The Battle of the Joshes

#JoshFight

Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star via AP

Paula Le, Reporter
April 28, 2021

Only one will go down in history. Will Josh win or will Josh win?

On April 24, 2021, hundreds gathered at Lincoln, Nebraska to fight for the right to the name “Josh.” With pool noodles as a choice of weaponry, Joshes across the nation had a “fight to the death.”

I’m sorry, did you just say… a Josh fight? It all started when Arizona college student, Josh Swain, messaged a dozen other Joshes on Facebook back in April of 2020.

PinchOfPeppers (Twitter).

The rule was simple. In exactly one year, whoever wins gets to keep the name. Everyone else has to forfeit theirs. What started as a joke to meet up (not expecting any Joshes to actually show up) ended up as a huge spectacle. The screenshot of the group chat spread across Twitter and Reddit, and thus, the Battle of Joshes was initiated. The original coordinates shown in the group chat led to a farm. However, the arrangements had to be changed since the owner “did not agree to host such a ridiculous event.”

The battle began with a “sweat beating down the face” Rock, Paper, Scissors between Arizonan Josh Swain and Nebraskan Josh Swain. At last, the Arizona college student won. A battle royale of all the Joshes then took place. The pool noodle battle at Air Park not only established who was the ultimate Josh, but the event also partnered to raise money for the Children’s Hospital and Medical Center Foundation and hosted a food drive. A win-win situation.

Those who weren’t a Josh sat on the sidelines and wore t-shirts and/or held signs with “Team Josh” or “I’m with Josh” displayed as support.

One thing led to another and in the end, four-year-old Joshua Vinso Jr. declared victory and was gifted with a Burger King crown, a trophy, and a belt.

“I like fighting!” – Little Josh (Kenneth Ferriera, Journal Star)

The crowd chanted “Little Josh!” Burger King even commented “A true king” in light of Little Josh trending on Twitter. In an interview with Channel 8 ABC, the father of Little Josh said, “He’s going to remember this for the rest of his life.”

Apparently, “Legendary Josh Battlefield” is now a location on Google Maps as a religious destination, the area where the Josh fight took place in Nebraska.