Kelly Cohen, ESPN 3y

Inaugural #JoshFight is over and 'Little Josh' is crowned the best Josh

The great #JoshFight of 2021 is over and "Little Josh" has won the inaugural "Battle of the Joshes."

In Lincoln, Nebraska, on Saturday, Joshes from all over the country attended the battle, and -- armed with a pool noodle -- 4-year-old Josh Vinson Jr. earned the crown.

"It's pretty awesome," Josh Vinson Sr. told the Lincoln Journal Star.

Vinson Jr., aka "Little Josh," won, but why were all these people gathered in Lincoln's Air Park Green Area?

In April 2020, Josh Swain, a University of Arizona student, created a Facebook messenger group with other people sharing his exact same name, challenging them to a fight. He wasn't serious about actually fighting, but the screenshots went viral, and finally, after a year, the first-ever #JoshFight was held. On Saturday, the action became a viral sensation.

"We fight, whoever wins gets to keep the name, everyone else has to change their name," Swain wrote in the original Facebook message. "You have a year to prepare, good luck."

Another Josh Swain, this one from Omaha, Nebraska, did show up in Lincoln. However, he lost a game of rock-paper-scissors against the original Josh Swain, who is now the "real" Josh Swain.

Some of the giant horde of Joshes arrived dressed in superhero and Star Wars costumes, and most seemed to join the melee with their own pool noodles.

The crowd also used the event to help local charities. According to the Lincoln Journal Star, the combatants donated between 200 to 300 pounds of food to the Lincoln Food Bank and raised more than $8,000 for the Children's Hospital & Medical Center Foundation in Omaha. 

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