Calling everyone named Josh: Name fight going down in Lincoln on Saturday

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - What started as a joke during the pandemic, is now turning into a gathering of people from across the country in Lincoln this weekend. Anyone named “Josh” is invited to partake in a “Josh Fight” to see who the rightful owner of the name is at the Air Park Green Area.

Josh Swain lives in Arizona. During the pandemic he created a Facebook group for everybody named “Josh Swain” He planned a fight, low impact like fencing with pool noodles, to see who gets the official naming rights of Josh. This Saturday Joshs from near and far are meeting in Air Park for what’s called the “Josh Fight”.

“The original post said that we would show up at these coordinates that I had chosen at random which happened to be in a random field in the state of Nebraska,” said Swain.

Swain thought it would just be a funny joke during pandemic boredom and no one would remember about it. Then a post resurfaced on social media saying this was happening.

“I immediately was frightened, and my friend was like ‘you have to go,’” Swain said. “I guess I have to make it a thing.”

Swain is graduating this May from Arizona. He didn’t know it would take off like this.

“It’s so bizarre,” Swain said.

This week Nebraska Wesleyan student Ryan Wall made a TikTok about the “Josh Fight”. It got more than a million and a half views.

“Unfortunately I am not named Josh, but I will be covering the event on the social media platform TikTok,” Ryan Wall said.

“We have notified the police that there is going to be a decent amount of people there,” Swain said. “This thing is going to happen whether I like it or not, so we just want to make sure to contain it and make sure it’s a safe and responsible event.”

Money raised was going to go toward legal fees for Joshs’ to change their names. Instead, there is a fundraiser set up to benefit The Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, and anyone attending is encouraged to bring a canned food item to benefit the Food Bank of Lincoln.

The organizer also has never been to Nebraska and plans to visit the capital and also get a Runza.

Here are more details on the event from Josh Swain.

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