Josh Fight: Meme Turned Reality
- Florencia Lombardi
- May 7, 2021
- 1 min read
On April 24th, dozens of men named Josh met to battle over their name. It all started when Josh Swain from Arizona organized the event as part of a viral meme challenging people on Facebook to fight for ownership of the name.
In Lincoln, Nebraska, the Joshes were summoned to fight with pool noodles in a high-spirited competition. On the chosen day, nearly a thousand people, including at least 50 named Josh, gathered at Air Park. The event received a lot of attention from social media as the public awaited the date, which had been set exactly a year before.
The winner of the battle was Josh Vinson Jr., nicknamed Little Josh, an adventurous 4-year old. He was awarded a plastic trophy and a Burger King crown after being declared victorious. When asked for any comments on his victory, Josh replied: “I fight everyone” — and the crowd roared.
Although it started as a silly online joke, the event turned out to be much more. The Josh Fight also served as a food drive and fundraiser. By the next day, the Josh Swain fund had raised more than $10000 for the Children's Hospital and Medical Center Foundation and 90 kg of food for a nearby food bank.
Bibliography
Papenfuss, M. (2021, April 25th) Just Joshin’: Mighty 4-Year-Old Wins Wild Noodle-Bashing Battle Of Hundreds Of Joshes. HuffPost.
Estelle, G. (2021, April 25th) Viral Meme Spawns 'Fight' Between Dozens of People Named Josh in Lincoln, Nebraska. Yahoo!News
Weiner, C. (2021, April 25th) There Can Only Be One: Battle Of The Joshes Brings Hundreds To Nebraska. NPR.
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