NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
A game that anyone can buy on Amazon has backing to eventually become an Olympic sport.
Stacey Moore, the commissioner of the American Cornhole League (ACL), which just renewed its deal with ESPN for three more years, has had several celebrities attend tournaments across the country and “they all respond extremely positively to playing.”
That’s why Moore believes it would be an instant hit in the Olympics, and “better than curling.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Stacey Moore, the US Cornhole League commissioner, aims to make cornhole an Olympic sport. (American Cornhole League)
“Go out and try to beat one of our pros, you’ll find out pretty quickly how hard this is.. Once you get beat 21-0 in five rounds, you’re going to be humbled,” Moore told Pakinomist Digital of the doubters.
“We hear that a lot, but that’s one of the great things about our sport, how accessible it is and how we like to say that anyone can play, anyone can win, because if you’re going to put your mind to it, you’re going to put in the time to practice, you can be competitive. Whether you can become a top pro is another thing. There’s still a big gap between being a really good, competitive cornhole player and being one of our top 10 players.”
The ACL has been on ESPN since 2016, and Moore thought of the idea of taking the backyard game to the next level after just seeing good competition.
ACL has been broadcasting on ESPN partners since 2016 and extended its deal for another three years. (American Cornhole League)
“I was just playing at tailgates, I saw people playing it much more seriously than me. And I thought, ‘What is it about this particular tailgate game that gets people so fired up?’ I realized there was a lot more skill and strategy to it than I originally thought and I enjoyed watching the top level players play at a high level,” said Moore.
“And I said, if I can potentially do a broadcast and put some technology behind this, do scores and stats so we can show that there’s a certain skill level that you have to reach to play it to be the best of the best. And obviously getting the ESPN deal was the ultimate kind of game changer when we got on ESPN.”
Moore started the World Cornhole Organization as the international federation for the sport, and USA Cornhole to make it a professional sport, eventually having owned teams.
Los Angeles in 2028 may be a bit unrealistic, but at least cornhole’s evolution into a sport is off to a hot start. But to reach another level, all Moore asks for is just a chance.
Moore said celebrities have honored their time in their appearances with the league. (American Cornhole League)
“It’s really just about getting an opportunity,” he said. “We have really good TV ratings, so if we do an Olympic sport I think it would do extremely well.”
Related article
