Hundreds gather in a Nebraska field for a pool-noodle brawl over the name Josh

April 26, 2021 3oliver

Hundreds of people flocked to a park in Nebraska on Saturday to engage in an intense pool-noodle brawl over the name Josh.

The winner? Four-year-old Joshua Vinson Jr., who was honored with a paper crown and hoisted in the air for all Joshes to see.

Josh Swain, the organizer of the Josh Fight, declares 4-year-old Joshua Vinson Jr. the ultimate Josh on Saturday at Air Park in Lincoln, Neb.

It all started a year ago when pandemic boredom set in and Josh Swain, a 22-year-old college student from Tucson, Arizona, messaged others who shared his name on social media and challenged them to a duel. The planning began.

Hundreds showed up Saturday at Air Park in Lincoln – a location chosen at random – to participate in the silliness.

The festivities started with a “grueling and righteous battle of Rock, Paper, Scissors” between Josh Swain from Arizona and Josh Swain from Omaha, Nebraska.

Josh Swain of Tucson, Ariz., left, takes on Josh Swain of Omaha, Neb., in a fierce game of rock, paper, scissors Saturday in Lincoln, Neb. The Arizona college student won, claiming the title of the true Josh Swain.

KLKN-TV reports that the Arizona student won that competition, allowing him to claim the title of the true Josh Swain.

The pool-noodle competition that followed was open to anyone with the first name of Josh.

Contestants -- all with the first name Josh -- engage in a pool-noodle brawl to find who is the rightful owner of the name. What started as a joke last year drew hundreds of people to Lincoln, Neb., for the game.

Vinson Jr. was declared the victor and received a Burger King crown for his efforts.

Reporter Yousef Nasser of KLKN-TV caught the winning ceremony on video (and later reported Vinson Jr. is actually 4 years old, per his dad).

Swain, the organizer, said he is a little surprised about how the whole thing blew up: “I did not expect people to be as adamant about this as they are right now.”

One Josh in attendance, Josh Kelsey, told the Lincoln Journal Star he drove to Lincoln from St. Louis and said he was blown away with how big the event got.

“I was expecting 30 people at max,” Kelsey told the outlet. “This is insane.”

Attendees of the brawl donated 200 to 300 pounds of food for the Food Bank of Lincoln and raised more than $8,000 for the Children’s Hospital and Medical Center Foundation in Omaha, according to the Journal Star.

Contributing: Associated Press

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