ELKTON, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Man Video games are again for Spherical 2, as groups from across the state collect to show they’ve what it takes to hitch the ranks of the world’s worst superhero.
Following the success of final 12 months’s inaugural Florida Man Video games in downtown St. Augustine, organizers have moved Saturday’s occasion a couple of miles away to the St. Johns County Fairgrounds, the place they anticipated to have room for extra spectators and tailgating.
The video games had been hosted by Florida comedians Josh Wicks Robinson and Kevin Flynn.
Poking enjoyable on the state’s popularity for weird tales, final 12 months’s groups competed in Florida-themed occasions just like the Evading Arrest Impediment Course and Beer Stomach Sumo Wrestling. New occasions added this 12 months embody Hurricane Celebration Prep: Grocery Aisle Brawl and Human Beer Pong.
Ten groups from across the state, from Fort Myers to Pensacola, had been competing. Final 12 months’s winner, crew Hanky Spanky from St. Augustine, had been returning to defend their snakeskin championship belt. Additionally competing this 12 months was an all-female crew known as the Ball Busters.
Croix Bruns, a 29-year-old technician for Dave & Buster’s, participated within the weaponized pool noodle competitors. He has lived in Florida his complete life, with the tattoos “to show for it,” and he mentioned he believes {that a} “true Florida Man” doesn’t put together for the video games.
“They’re just born ready to be great,” Bruns mentioned. “They’re born ready for the trophy and ready for the title, and each year someone new has to be born for it.”
The Florida Man Video games are one thing you will not discover anyplace else, he mentioned.
“We’ve got the Olympics and they’ve been around forever, but they don’t have gator tossing,” Bruns mentioned. “They don’t have a contest where you’ve got to hold your beer and fight someone else at the same time.”
In addition to watching the occasions, company have an opportunity to stand up to Florida Man shenanigans themselves. They’ll work together with alligators from Gatorland and experience a mechanical alligator. The video games additionally characteristic a present by ” Midget Wrestling Warriors ” and lawnmower racing hosted by NASCAR driver Jeffrey Earnhardt.
To announcer Che Durena, the video games embody Florida in a aggressive sense.
“It’s exactly on-brand the way I thought it would be,” he mentioned. “It’s the right level of grimy and extravagance and debaucherous. It’s exactly what I want. It’s a lot of people day drinking, a lot of people getting sunburnt, a lot of people just partying and acting foolish in the best way.”
The “Florida Man” phenomenon seeped into the nation’s consciousness thanks partly to a Twitter account that began in 2013 with the deal with @_FloridaMan. The account touted “real-life stories of the world’s worst superhero,” sharing information headlines equivalent to “Florida Man Bites Dog to ‘Establish Dominance’ ” and “Florida Man Tried to Pay for McDonald’s With Weed.”
