'Little Josh' wins a unique 'Battle of the Joshes' to keep his name

All the people named Josh in Arizona, USA had a 'Duke' moment this weekend.

What started as an early pandemic joke evolved into a full-fledged 'fight'as hundreds of people named Josh gathered in Lincoln, Nebraska, to battle it outover their shared name.

An Arizona college student named Josh Swain sent a Facebook message last April to dozens of other people who shared his first and last name.

"You're probably wondering why I've gathered you all here today," the 22-year-old wrote. Then is typed along with a random date, April 24, 2021, and instructions to "meet at these coordinates," which happened to be in Lincoln.

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

Swain said it was "entirely a joke" and didn't think anything would come of it, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. That was until a few months ago when friends brought it up again and Swain decided to go for it. He bought a plane ticket to Lincoln andposted details about the event on social media.

Swain told the Lincoln Journal Star he wasn't sure if anyone would show up but hundreds arrived at the large greenspace at Air Park for the Battle of the Joshes, equipped with the pool noodles that Swain invited people to bring.

The spectacle showed the fighters with their pool noodles, deckedin Spider-Man- and Star Wars-themed costumes.

People not named Josh stood on the sidelines to cheer on their fighters with t-shirts and signs of support that read, "I'm with Josh," "Team Josh," and "Go Josh! Beat Josh!"

In the end, 4-year-old Lincoln resident Josh Vinson Jrwas crownedthe 'Ultimate Josh' and was presented with a Burger King paper crown and a trophy.

The original Josh Swain used the Josh fight to raise money for the Children's Hospital and Medical Center Foundation. He also used the event to host a food drive for the Food Bank of Lincoln.

"Thank you so so much to all the volunteers that helped out and the residents of the great city of Lincoln for being so welcoming and making this event incredible," Swain wrote on Twitter after the event. "Still in disbelief at the moment but amazed at the incredible support."