Stranger Than Fiction: Ping-pong Is Hip

In Geezer’s world, ping-pong was a game played in rec rooms by high school kids who wanted to optimize the usefulness of their one friend, and it was generally understood that the winners of ping-pong tournaments were the losers of Having a Life. The Los Angeles Times reports that things have changed: ping-pong is now an Olympic event, a darling of ESPN2, and has spawned DVDs,
futuristic-looking tables, a glossy magazine and a movie currently in
development. Wait, there’s more: "Around town," the paper reports, "pingpong tables are cropping up in über-hip artists’ lofts
and galleries. It’s a secret passion of entertainment crews who unwind
between takes with a few rallies. Other industry veterans hold an
invitation-only summer tournament." How could that happen?  The Times gives the whole story and more, but the best answer can be found in the story’s last graph:
"Cerebral and low-impact, pingpong may not be America’s idea of a sport.
But for its fringe-dwelling fans, it’s the anti-sport sport. And that’s
cool." Read more in the L.A. Times.