Hundreds of men and boys called Josh showed up to Nebraska to battle each other with pool noodles for the right to keep their name after one Josh challenged the others in a Facebook message that went viral last year.
The hilarity started in April 2020 when an Arizona college student named Josh Swain sent a message to a group of other men with the same name challenging them to a fight for the right to keep it.
Videos posted online on Saturday show total mayhem as the grown men and boys named Josh actually showed up a year later to hit each other with pool noodles, some even falling to the ground.
Though only two Josh Swains showed up most people who attended were in fact named Josh. The Josh Swains duked it out with a game of ‘rock, paper, scissors’ before the revelry started.
The winner of the battle royale was a 5-year-old referred to as ‘Little Josh,’ according to KLKN reporter Yousef Nasser. His victory was celebrated with a Burger King crown while he was lifted up by an adult to thunderous cheers from the crowd.
Joshes gathered to battle it out to find out who is the rightful owner of the name Josh via a pool noodle battle royale
Some people not named Josh also showed up to watch the event
Josh Swain, left, the original poster, crowns a five year old boy named Josh the victor, right
Only one other Josh Swain showed up and they duked it out in a game of rock paper scissors
‘Little Josh’ Vinson Jr. is crowned the ultimate Josh with a Burger King crown on Saturday that is too big for his head
People gather around a little boy named Josh who was crowned the ultimate Josh on Saturday
Josh Swain sent this original message for the Josh Fight last year
Josh Swain had written in the original message last year: ‘You’re probably wondering why I’ve gathered you all here today.’
Another man named Josh Swain replied ‘because we all share the same names’ while another Josh Swain left the chat.
‘Precisely, 4/24/2021, 12:00 p.m., meet at these coordinates, (40.8223286, -96.7982002) we fight, whoever wins gets to keep the name, everyone else has to change their name, you have a year to prepare, good luck,’ Swain wrote.
KnowYourMeme, a database for viral content online, noted that the GPS coordinates in the original message point to a location outside the Lincoln airport that was later registered as the ‘Josh Fight’ when searched on gps-coordinates.net.
Over the last year, people online have continued to remind people named Josh about the Josh Fight in a bid to turn it into a reality. However, it eventually hit a small snag. The person who owned the private property apparently did not want any part in it.
Then on Tuesday, the Twitter account @MemesCentral made a post that said the Josh Fight had been moved.
The post included a picture of a shipping pallet with a message that reads: ‘No Josh Fight Here!!! Private Property.
‘Please go to Bowling Lake Park for Josh vs Josh vs Josh,’ the sign reads before noting the new coordinates. ‘May the best Josh win.”
A sign is seemingly placed at the original location for the Josh Fight directing guys named Josh to a local park
A man named Josh wears a nametag that reads ‘Josh’ during a massive Josh Fight in Nebraska
People named Josh hit each other with pool noodles during a massive brawl on Saturday
Spectators not named Josh record the battle from the safety of the sidelines as the Joshs battled in an open green space in Air Park
One Josh holds two foam swords for the Josh fight, which was randomly held in Nebraska
Josh Swain, the original, then confirmed details of the event on Reddit but said it would be held at Air Park Green Area – not Bowling Lake Park as the sign read.
‘Almost one year ago, under a spell of pandemic boredom, I made a group chat of all the people on Facebook that I could find with the same first and last name as mine,’ he wrote on Reddit.
‘This was a complete joke, and I have posted jokes to my twitter before, but when I posted the screenshots to my Twitter here, the internet ran with it, and ran with enough endurance for you all to remember a YEAR later.’
He continued: ‘That doesn’t happen very often, so I’m afraid I have to oblige the internet and trek all the way across the contiguous United States to defend my name.’
Swain said that he had picked the original coordinates ‘at random.’
‘They landed on some farm owner’s land who did not agree to host such a ridiculous event. Please be courteous and proceed directly to the new coordinates.’
Swain noted on Reddit for people who show up to bring canned goods for the Food Bank of Lincoln, while providing a link to an online fundraiser for Children’s Hospital & Medical Center Foundation – which he cheekily named ‘Help pay legal fees for Josh Swain’s to change their name fund.’