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When I decided to write this, I told myself I wasn’t going to make fun of table tennis. Any of the jokes that can be made are too easy and stereotypical, for one. Like, “Olympic table tennis? What’s next, Olympic hopscotch?” See, that’s awful. Secondly, I have a lot of respect for anyone who’s good at the game. Most of my time playing table tennis is spent running for the ball, not hitting it. Now, having said all that, I do need to point out one thing: where other sports have sponsors like Nike or Reebok, the Olympic Table Tennis Trials’ corporate sponsor is the tough, athletic, and rough! Kleenex.

Okay, now that I have that out of my system, I would like to express how thoroughly cool it is that Drexel is hosting the 2008 Olympic Trials for table tennis. I mean, how often do you get to see really good table tennis? (And no, watching that scene from Forrest Gump doesn’t count.) The trials will be taking place at Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center on January 10-13. Tickets for the events on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are $10 each (or $20 for all three days), but the Thursday qualifying round is completely free. Free to see future Olympians!

Oh, and if you think your ping-pong skills from Bob and Barbara’s translate into trying out in the qualifying round, I’ve got some bad news: you’ve got to be a member of USA Table Tennis to compete. But don’t worry, buddy: there’s always 2010.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-866-4-DREXEL.

Daskalakis Athletic Center @ Drexel
33rd and Market Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19104