Written and Remembered by:
Michael "Elvis" Greene
In The Beginning...God created "Pass the Pigs"
The years have clouded my memory a bit, and some of the facts in this story may have a different reality depending on whom you ask or who tells the story. But as I remember it…
I believe the year was 1998 and I was working on a Plymouth car commercial as a production assistant. The producer, a man by the name of Brad English, didn't want the advertising agency to become bored (or to ask too many questions) so he asked another production assistant to buy some magazines and some inexpensive games. One of those games, which Brad specifically requested, happened to be Pass The Pigs. And so it began.
The first thing I thought of when I picked up the box was, "This is the dumbest game I've ever seen." I laughed and asked Brad what it was.
"It's Pass The Pigs. You never heard of Pass The Pigs?" He replied.
Brad was a big fan of the game so he took it upon himself to quickly teach me the rules and we even passed a few pigs so I could get the hang of it. It didn't take long for me to see that this game was amazing. It was better than Battleship and more challenging then Connect Four. Also, with its sleek plastic case, it was fashionable and easy to carry around. Yes indeed, I was embarking on a whole new world of things to do when I'm bored.
(Little did I know that this handsomely designed game would change the way my friends thought of one another).
Immediately after Brad showed me the ropes I started rolling for the elusive Leaning Double Jowler. For several hours while manning the phones on the set, I passed the pigs by myself. (Not exactly something I'm proud of, but people do tend to pass the pigs alone). Roll after roll after roll trying to get those little rubber beauties to stand on one ear, and although I managed to get Single Leaning Jowlers, there was no Double Leaning Jowler to be had.
After passing pigs for this long, I had developed a technique and a love for pig passing. It was a simple game but a very entertaining one. I couldn't wait to show it to my friends. Needless to say the advertising agency never got to play Pass The Pigs because I stuck it in his bag and took it home. It's true, our first set of Pass The Pigs... were stolen.
Several days later Perry Day and I were hanging out in my apartment in Sherman Oaks when I decided it was time to unveil the new game. The exact way it unfolded is hard to recall, but I remember sitting at our huge black coffee table, showing Perry the case and then Perry picking up the pigs and checking them out. At first he thought it was pretty stupid, but always the adventurous one, Perry was willing to give it a try.
He picked up the rules quickly and we played our first game. He was hooked right away. I had converted my first person to pig passing. To be honest, I wasn't looking to build a Pig League at the time. I just didn't feel like passing the pigs alone anymore.
A short time later, while Perry and I were still passing the pigs, Gary Williams, who was my roommate at the time, bumbled in to quickly pick something up on his way back to work. The conversation went something like this:
"What the hell is that?" Gary asked.
"It's Pass The Pigs." Perry said.
"Do you want to try it?" I asked.
"No. That's the dumbest thing I've ever seen. You guys are assholes. I've got to go back to work." Gary said as he made his way out the front door.
It was the first time I realized that you can't get someone interested in Pass The Pigs unless they actually pass the pigs.
Later that night Gary returned and found Perry and I still passing the pigs, although by now we had been drinking heavily and were passing like there was no tomorrow. Gary took notice of the fun we seemed to be having with these little rubber pigs and, after getting a beer for himself, made his way over to the table and in a boisterous voice said something like "Let me see those things." Gary played a game with Perry and I and he was hooked.
"This is the dumbest thing I've ever played. It's awesome. Do you guys want to play again?" He said. The rest was history. There were now three dedicated pig passers.
Gradually, other friends were introduced to the game. As I remember it, I think it was Perry who spread the word and introduced the game to Mark Rago and Joe Coia while I introduced the game to Geoff Richcreek and Gary introduced the game to Autograph Mike and Little Geoff Shwartz. I believe it was both Gary and I who introduced the game to Shane Ross.
Pass The Pigs was spreading like wildfire and it brought about some hilarious, and historic, moments. Yet at this point in the history of the game, there was no league. We were an unorganized bunch of hooligans, passing the pigs wherever we found a table. Much in the same way a group of friends gets together to play cards, we would get together to pass the pigs.
One common method of play was to have everyone sit around the table and play at the same time. In fact, as I remember it, at one such gathering at Joe Coia's apartment in Glendale, Mark Rago became the first man to roll from 0 to 100 points without passing the pigs. As I said before, my memory has faded and sometimes events are more myth then reality, but in my mind's eye it was Mark who did the impossible first. Regardless of whether he was first or not, the fact of the matter is that the rest of the table was literally standing to see if he could pull it off.
The more he rolled, the more anxious we all became. We couldn't believe he was going for it. And when he finally hit 100 points, the table erupted into laughter, cheers and applause. To see a bunch of grown men sitting around a table, literally biting their lips in nervous anticipation to see if Rago could go from 0 to 100 with rubber pigs was just…hilarious. However, the friendly competition and the energy the game produced were well worth the price of admission and I believe I can speak for all of us when I say that we all enjoyed the camaraderie.
The Rink and The First Event of the NPPL
As the months passed and Christmas was getting closer and closer, I began to realize that just as we're supposed to be "coming together" for the holidays, we would all be going our separate ways to see our families and such. Very few people actually stay in Los Angeles for the holidays.
So, I devised a plan to get the guys together one last time before everyone took off for home, wherever that may be.
I came up with a way to play Pass The Pigs much like March Madness in college hoops. We had 8 players at this point so making 2 brackets of four players each would be easy. The event would be comprised of 3 rounds. Each round was head to head. Only two people would play at a time. The first round would be a best of 5. The winner went on to the semi finals. The semi finals would be a best of 5. The inner would move on to the finals. The finals would be a best of 7. We would draw names from a hat to decide who plays in which bracket and who plays first.
The winner will get a trophy. Reasonably simple when you think about it.
I wasn't sure how the others would take to the idea, but they loved it. Everyone wanted in. And in essence, the "National Pass The Pigs League" was born, although still in its infancy at this point.
Plans went into effect immediately and an entire party was produced around the event.
Gary Williams talked with a few craftsmen on the set of The Haunting and had them design a circular rink made of wood with two pigs painted in it. This became known as The Official Pig Rink which is still in use to this day.
I went out to a garden supply store and purchased a terracotta decorative pig and some gold spray paint. After carefully applying the paint, I had produced the first ever Pass The Pigs trophy. The Golden Pig which now resides in the Online Museum. (It's exact location is kept confidential to protect it as it's a very sought after item and has been stolen in the past).
The idea was hatched to throw 25 bucks into a pot as well, as an entry fee. Winner takes all. And even though everyone wanted the money, it was The Golden Pig they were after. No doubt about it. That golden beauty was on everyone's mind. Oh how it shined. I imagine that if Moses walked down the mountain and saw this Golden Pig he would have said "Damn…that's worth some praise." Ok, perhaps that's taking it a bit too far. But it was an excellent trophy. And, mind you, still is. But these days it represents more then a game. It's a foundation upon which a lifestyle was created.
The first tournament was a massive success and Shane Ross took The Golden Pig home. Known as "The Shaman" Shane passed the pigs like no other that night. He was truly impressive.
Sadly I remember being knocked out in the first round to Mark Rago, who later went on to be one of the most successful Pig Champions in NPPL history. The event was such a success that immediately afterwards there were plans made for another event the following year.
I remember talking to Perry the day after the tournament and he was saying how fun it was. I agreed and both of us wondered if it would be possible to actually wait an entire year to pass the pigs again.
"I don't know Perry…I just don't know." I said.
January turned into February turned into March. The party was so much fun and the itch to pass the pigs was so strong that everyone wondered if they'd be able to wait another year to play. Simply hanging out and passing the pigs, although still a lot of fun, wasn't fixing their addiction. It was a questionable period of pig longing. Dare I say…we may have suffered from "pig madness".
It was Perry Day who broke the silence of the pigs and devised the concept of The Piganapolis 500.
His plan was simple. Everyone sits around The Pig Rink at the same time and we take turns, right to left, passing the pigs. The first one to reach 500 points, as opposed to 100, wins.
We decided the event would be in May to coincide with the Indianapolis 500, and effectively split the Pig Calendar Year in half as a way to quench our thirst for more pig passing. It was a novel idea - it's takes a lot of Passing the Pigs to get to 500 points - there was a whole new strategy involved. And all you need is one oinker to lose all your points and your finished!
It was an instant success and everyone got involved. Geoff Richcreek was the very first winner of the Piganapolis 500 in a blinding 30 minute victory. It was his technique of his fast and immediate pick-up of his rolls that earned him the name "Blitzcreek".
The Piganapolis was never designed to replace the value of The Golden Pig Trophy. It was simply a way to keep the game alive and to keep us hungry. Instead of a continuous trophy, like The Golden Pig which is passed on from year to year - winner to winner, the Piganapolis 500 has no trophy. Instead you win some sort of prize and it's yours for life. The prizes very from year to year and are proudly displayed among the winner's homes.
Destruction and Rebirth - A New Era in the NPPL
Over the past few years, between 1999 and 2005 The Pig Tournament had grown. Word was spread and others were interested in getting into the action. It came to a point where there were more players then tournament slots. Something had to be done.
It was also at this point that I moved back to New Jersey and left my West Coast Pig Passers behind. It was a difficult move, but I'm only an airline away from getting into the next tournament. In fact, I just might be there this year.
It was also at this time that some players left the game and new players were added. It was a time of reorganization for the pigs. It was a time of change. Of growth and of destruction. The game stood on a precipice and no one was sure what would happen. And then it happened...
The Golden Pig was….shattered!!! Thinking back on it, I find it nearly too poetic to be true. Just when the Pigs were changing, when no one was sure what tomorrow would bring or if there would even be another tournament, The Golden Pig was destroyed and forced a change to occur. Almost as if The Pig Gods deemed it to be so.
So what happened to The Pig? Well....as the story goes...
While at a Halloween party, Perry and Gary were goofing on each other about the pigs and probably their costumes. Perry was dressed as legendary Cub's fan Steve Bartman, and Gary had a horrible Tony Montana costume. You can imagine the tension in the room as there would be in real life! And it's common for pig passers to trash talk each other and taunt one another. It's become part of the game and it's all meant in fun.
There is some confusion as to exactly what happened, but basically Gary tossed The Golden Pig to Perry, it then hit Mark Rago in the snout (how ironic) and then Perry, in full-costume form, somehow either dropped it or allowed it to drop to the floor. Given Perry's Halloween costume of the night, it is widely rumored and assumed it was dropped. On purpose?? - It has been denied, but no one knows for sure... The Pig's left leg and ass cheek broke off. After all, it was only terracotta painted gold.
While I wasn't actually at the party, I received call after call about the event. It threw the entire league into disarray. From the sound of it, it was West Side Story all over again. Jets vs. The Sharks. It was like a scene from Frankenstein where the crowd gathers with pitchforks and torches to capture the monster. Mass hysteria.
Perry was being blamed for dropping or smashing The Pig and Gary was being blamed for throwing it or tossing it in the first place. It was a debacle. Both sides blamed each other and both called for the others dismissal from the game. Rago's nose was even being blamed!
Perry took it so far that he threatened to leave the league and start his own league called "The No Hogwash Federation" because he'd heard enough hogwash. Mark Rago and his nose threatened to retire their pigs altogether!
Things were bad. The end was upon us. And without sounding overdramatic, I felt a little bit like Abraham Lincoln. While I wasn't the president of the league by any means, I felt a certain obligation to get involved.
I suppose it was that I was impartial to the event, but I received calls from everyone. I listened to everyone's side and devised ways to get past this trying time. In the end, I managed to broker a deal between Perry, Gary and the rest of the league. A sort of peace treaty if you will.
Perry wouldn't be blamed for deliberately smashing The Pig and Gary would accept semi-equal responsibility for tossing The Pig to Perry. However, much like the North and the South are in the USA, it's still a very touchy subject.
Along with the peace treaty, a new trophy would be acquired. While Joe Coia did a pretty decent job gluing The Golden Pig back together, everyone agreed that the time had come to upgrade and start fresh. Mark Rago worked out the details and a new trophy was purchased, complete with a gold pig sitting on top.
Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, so did the Pig League.
Another change at this time was the basic format. It was decided that instead of a fixed 8 man bracket system, a Round Robin style of play would be more effective. Simply because it would allow everyone the chance to play each other instead of just one opponent, and it would allow any number of players to pass the pigs. You were no longer bound by the confines of a rigid system of 8 people.
In 2004 The Round Robin Style was tested and it worked out perfectly. The League has never looked back.
The Launch of "Pig Madness"
Now, for many years we had talked about making a true March Madness style event with 64 people. But to get that many people together to pass the pigs was unlikely. Although there were more and more people becoming interested in the sport, it still seemed far out of reach....
...Until the Summer of 2005.
Mark Rago and Perry Day got together and decided that something had to be done. There were far too many people interested in passing the pigs. In the Summer of 2005, the very first Pig Madness event was put on in Venice, California.
Much like March Madness, it was a super Pig Tournament. It was a head to head event that gradually eliminated people over a period of losses and the entry fee was a whopping $50 which included $1,000 prize money, beer, liquor and food. And yes, there was a trophy to be had as well.
The event was so insane that some people flew in from the East coast!
While Mark and Perry were shy of their target of 63 people, they did manage to gather 23 and play a round-robin style which worked out perfectly. It was the birth of a new celebration. There are predictions that in years to come, The Pig Madness event will be more like a festival.
In 2005, it was Lou Nocella, from the east coast, who took the trophy and the money. He would be the very first West Coast Pig Madness Champion of all time.
With the excitement of Lou's win, the East Coast Pig's Division became a very real possibility because he brought back the excitement and enthusiasm of the event and shared it with his friend's in New Jersey.
In December of 2005 Lou Nocella put on the very first East Coast Pig Madness Event. Mind you, at this point an East Coast Division hadn't been achieved. Lou skipped the Division building and went straight for the heart. Pig Madness. Much like the other events, this event was a blast.
In striking retribution to Lou's win, Mark Rago took home the gold, almost as if to say "You got it from our house…I'm taking this from yours."
And looking back on it, I don't recall a lot of rivalries being born. But in years to come, I imagine that exchange of trophies from East to West will leave quite a scar.
Needless to say, with one year under it's belt, the following year's Western Division Pig Madness tournament was even better than the first. Word was spreading - almost 30 people played in 2006. Last year's 2007 Madness had almost 40 people playing and another 20 or so also there, just to see who would win the $1,000 prize!
Present-Day Pigs
Essentially, that brings us up to date in our current state of 2010.
At this point, there is a huge West Coast Division, a Midwest Division based in Chicago that is growing stronger by the month, and foundations have been laid for an East Coast Division as well. There are also some minor league teams. Farm teams if you will.
With the success of the Pig Madness tournaments, the game is growing by leaps and bounds every year. It is the hope that the East Coast will develop as strong a union as the West and one day, the East Coast Champion will meet the West Coast Champion in Las Vegas for a National Pass The Pigs Championship. That is the real dream.
Some day.
For me, I have been given the nickname of "The Founder", and my objective has been completed. My idea for the game, at it's core, is not to be victorious but to share the victory of friendship with those closest to you. To celebrate your friendships and to strengthen the bonds between us.
It's way to make sure that we never forget who our friends are and to help build those ties to make them stronger and stronger as the years go by. To this day, my vision of a unifying game has been successful. Pass The Pigs is more then a game. It's a brotherhood.
And to this day, I have yet to roll the elusive Double Leaning Jowler that got me hooked so many years ago. So my quest continues. Pigs is personal to me. ...to all of us.
Have you ever passed the pigs? Is a Southern Division in our future? That, my friends, is up to you. Contact us and let us know if you have a Division worthy of our high standards.
Elvis Greene
Founder of the NPPL
The NPPL's first set of Pigs!
The first trophy of the NPPL.
Notice the left leg and ass cheek -----
