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A game that anybody can buy on Amazon has support 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 numerous celebrities participate in tournaments across the country, and “they all react extremely favorably to playing.”
That’s why Moore believes that it would be an instant hit in the Olympics, and “better than curling.”
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Stacey Moore, the American Cornhole League commissioner, is aiming 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 difficult this is.. Once you get beat 21-0 in five rounds, you’ll be humbled,” Moore told 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 anyone can play, anyone can win, because if you want to put your mind to it, you want to put the time into practice, you can become competitive. Whether you can become a top professional is a different thing. There’s still a big gap between being a really good, competitive cornhole player and being one of our top 100 pros.”
The ACL has been on ESPN since 2016, and Moore thought of the idea of bringing the backyard game to the next level after simply seeing good competition.
The ACL has been broadcast on ESPN partners since 2016 and extended its deal for another three years. (American Cornhole League)
“I was just playing at tailgates, I was watching people playing it way more seriously than me. And I was thinking, ‘What is it about this particular tailgating game that gets people so amped 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,” Moore said.
“And I said, if I can potentially do a broadcast and put some technology behind this, do scores and stats so that we can show that there is a definite 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 final 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 to eventually have owned teams.
Los Angeles in 2028 might be a bit unrealistic, but at the very least, cornhole’s evolution into a sport is off to a hot start. But to get to even another level, all Moore is asking for is just a chance.
Moore said celebrities have revered their time in their appearances with the league. (American Cornhole League)
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“It’s really just about getting an opportunity,” he said. “We have really good TV ratings, so if we make an Olympic sport, I think it would do extremely well.”
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