Bigger Than The Game: And Forrest Was There

Forrest Gump remains one of my all time favorite movies. Many of the historical events Gump was a part of are easy enough to pin-point. The one event that has long baffled me was his trip to China on the “All-American Ping-Pong Team.” Little did I know, the U.S Table Tennis team actually helped to pave the way for better U.S./Chinese relations at the height of the Cold War.

"In the land of China, people don't ever go to church"
but the did play some serious ping-pong

Long seen as one of the best ways to spread diplomacy throughout the world, table tennis had gain popularity impart from its development by British expatriates on over-seas assignment. The game took hold in China during the early 1900’s thanks to English involvement in the opium trade. It has been said that forces in the Chinese Civil War were so fond of the game that truces were set up so that the opposing sides could pit their best players against each other.