Brandi’s Future Husband Is A Cornhole Champ

This weeks edidtion of Brandi's Future Husband takes us to Virginia, and Cornhole.

My future husband is Toby Smith, of Blacksburg, Virginia, went to a Virginia Tech football game at Wake Forest in 2006 when he was recruited to play cornhole at a nearby tailgate party. He has been hooked ever since. Smith, a 35-year-old engineer, has cornhole boards set up at his office so he can practice for an hour or two after work. "It's gobs of strategy," Smith said during a break in the tournament. Some throws are meant to push other bags into the hole or block an opponent. The "airmail," or a high lob, goes directly into the hole. "When you're out there throwing, it's serious," Smith said. "And then as soon as it's over, it's time to buy somebody a beer."

The American Cornhole Organization will crown its world champions as about 380 competitors from 17 states vie for $10,000 in prize money in singles and doubles events. Cornhole involves tossing one-pound bags filled with plastic pellets into a hole in a slanted board 27 feet away. Players earn points depending on whether the bags land in the hole or on the board. The first one to 21 points wins. The American Cornhole Organization debuted in 2005 to develop the competitive side to the game.

Although its origins aren't clear, with different groups and regions laying claim to popularizing the game, cornhole's name derives from bags that were originally filled with corn. For the organization, that changed when one of its clients, a cruise line, complained that the corn attracted rodents on its ships. The bags also were prone to mildew, bugs and would lose weight and density over time.