Some have called it Josh Fight or Josh Battle Royale. Others will simply remember it as Josh versus Josh versus Josh.
Regardless of title, hundreds of people who share the first name Josh gathered in Lincoln, Neb. On Saturday to vie for the “right” to their name. Armed with pool noodles, Joshes from across the country met at the Air Park, where they quarreled as spectators with other names cheered on from the sidelines.
In the end, it was 4-year-old Josh Vinson Jr. from Lincoln, who was referred to as “Little Josh” by his colleagues and was crowned the winner. (According to there was also a “Big Josh” photos from the Lincoln Journal Star.)
(The age mentioned in the tweet was later corrected.)
The idea for the event started with a Facebook message sent by the event organizer, Josh Swain, last year. Below what Swain referred to on a Reddit post As “the magic of pandemic boredom,” the 22-year-old Arizona student launched a group message with as many people he could find on Facebook who shared his first and last name.
In doing so, he joined the many other who has searched their namesake online. But Swain’s message had a twist: an invitation to his name doppelganger to duel for the right to be known as Josh Swain, with a date, April 24, 2021, and a random set of coordinates.
“We fight, whoever wins can keep the name,” he said. “Everyone else has to change their name, you have a year to prepare, good luck.”
The news was a “complete joke,” Swain said on the Reddit post. After the Internet shared screenshots of the conversation on Twitter, it replied with meme-filled Fervor – enough to convince Swain to make the trip to Lincoln, Neb., To “defend his name”.
At the event on Saturday, which doubled as a food drive and fundraiser, not one but two Josh Swains were at the Air Park. (The coordinates originally chosen by Swain happened to be in the center of a farm, so he moved the location to a more public setting.)
Name twins Josh from Arizona and Josh from Omaha, Neb., Have managed to become known as the outstanding Josh Swain in a tense battle of rock, paper and scissors. With a final pair of rock-beats scissors, the event organizer emerged victorious.
The Swainbowl was followed by the pool noodle fight, which was open to anyone with the first name Josh and later to anyone of any name who wanted to join the chaos. A Live broadcast The event was watched by people from Norway and Sweden who could tune in to see the hundreds of Joshes, some of whom were dressed in Star Wars, Spider-Man and other superhero costumes.
By Sunday the Josh Swain Fund had raised more than $ 10,000 for the Children’s Hospital and Medical Center Foundation, which provides medical care to children across Nebraska.
On a Reddit post Following the event, Swain – now known as “THE Josh Swain” – said he had “no idea how the event would go” and was worried about how many people would show up. But the result, he said, was a gathering that was “incredibly respectful, courteous, joyful, and overall just fantastic”.
“Man, you absolutely rocked it,” he said. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making the Josh Swain Battle Royale, Josh Fight, JoshvsJoshvsJosh, etc., one of the greatest events of my entire life.”
Some redditors suggested establishing the battle as an annual tradition with a new name, location, and charity each year. A suggestion for next year’s name? Jenny Smith.
