5-year-old Josh Vinson Jr. crowned #1 Josh for a 2nd time annual Josh Fight : NPR | #datingscams | #russianliovescams | #lovescams

Dozens of people named Josh armed with pool noodles gathered in Lincoln, Neb., to fight for the title of #1 Josh. The Josh Fight started as a viral Internet meme.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Have you ever heard of a Josh Fight? Well, last weekend, dozens of people named Josh gathered in a park in Lincoln, Neb., to compete in Josh Fight 2022. Now, you may be asking, what exactly is a Josh Fight?

JOSH SRERY: Anyone with the name Josh with a pool noodle can come in and fight.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

That Josh is Josh Srery. He decided to join this year’s competition after seeing last year’s battle go viral. The Josh Fight rules are simple. Anyone named Josh grabs a pool noodle and has an all-out brawl. If someone hits you with a noodle, you’re out. The last Josh standing is crowned the No. 1 Josh.

CHANG: Now, most of the Joshes had their eye on one competitor – last year’s returning champion, 5-year-old Josh Vinson Jr., aka Little Josh. Srery says he was anxious to face off against Little Josh.

SRERY: I was somewhat nervous because I kind of knew of his potential, especially having that confidence that he won last year.

CHANG: But Little Josh mostly kept his cool before the match.

JOSH VINSON JR: I was a little nervous, but not that nervous.

PFEIFFER: And he had his family to help him prepare.

JOSH: I’ve been training with my brother.

PFEIFFER: As the start time neared, a crowd formed around the Joshes, and they assumed their battle stances.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Shouting) Three, two, one…

PFEIFFER: When the fight began, Little Josh sprung into action – bolting around the arena, weaving between his competitors, dodging noodles from all directions.

CHANG: (Laughter).

PFEIFFER: Little Josh’s father, Josh Vinson Sr., said his agility was just insurmountable.

JOSH VINSON SR: It also helps that he’s, like, less than three feet…

CHANG: (Laughter).

VINSON: …So he can run through people’s legs and, you know, he can’t get hit as well because he’s just, like, this little, fast, Speedy Gonzales guy running around with a big red pool noodle.

CHANG: As the battle raged on, the arena thinned as Little Josh took down everyone in his path until there were only two.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Come this way. Come this way. We’re going to have a final duel between Captain Josh Sparrow and Little Josh.

PFEIFFER: The battle was tense, like two Jedi facing off for the fate of the galaxy. But in the end…

VINSON: He went out there and crushed the competition, just like we knew he would. His skills are undeniable.

PFEIFFER: And not only did little Josh Vinson Jr. retain his title as the No. 1 Josh in the world. The event had raised more than $20,000 in donations for Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, Neb.

(SOUNDBITE OF KAYTRANADA’S “TRACK UNO”)

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