Redneck Games take on Olympics for glory!

[T_i_B]

Any ideas for London 2012?

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article298082.ece

Ancient Greece may have launched the Olympics, and London may have given birth to Wimbledon, but that doesn't mean there isn't room in the world's sporting pantheon for the hot and sweaty little town of East Dublin, Georgia.

True, the athletic line-up at East Dublin's annual festival is a little unusual. Belly-flopping in a mud pit is not exactly a recognised Olympian pursuit, nor is watermelon seed-spitting. But such activities come naturally to a certain breed of sunburned white southerners - the kind who traditionally carry pitchforks and wear denim overalls and smile great big toothless smiles

The name of the event says it all: the Redneck Games. The annual shindig began as a bit of a joke, a spoof response to the 1996 Olympics held up the road in Atlanta, but has grown into a veritable phenomenon. Yesterday, the games celebrated their 10th anniversary, attracting a crowd that organisers expected to top the 15,000 mark - not bad in a town of just over 2,000 - and offered the usual packed programme of events and competition. As the official slogan says, it was all "more fun than cow-tippin'!"

Spectators relished such sights as the hubcap hurl, which has been described a redneck version of the discus, redneck horseshoes (played with toilet seats), bobbing for pigs' feet, a buttcrack beauty contest, and something called the armpit serenade, in which contestants attempt to crank out a tune solely with the use of their underarms and a single dampened hand. The festivities were inaugurated with a torch parade - the torch being proudly fuelled by propane. Instead of cups or medals, winners receive trophies adorned with crushed beer cans.

[WCGreen]

1. That is cool....

In a wierd sicko way....

[CottonBear]

2. LOL! I'm from GA. I have a good friend from Dublin (near Macon).

I didn't realize that the games were still going strong after all these years! :)

Don't ya'll have some sort of cheese rolling contest? You could incorporate that and the contest in which people make funny faces with a toilet seat around their necks (I saw this in a report on England on TV the other day.)

What suggestions do you have for the name of your alternative games? :)

BTW, Dublin was named after the Irish town. I believe that one of the city's founders had a wife from Ireland who missed her homeland. The city was named after her hometown so she would not be so homesick.

[T_i_B]

3. You mean Gurning?

That's the face pulling contest (removal of false teeth is strongly advised before entering.)

And the chasing a Cheese rolling down a hill contest is done at some village somewhere I can't remember. We have lot's of funny things like that over here. (in the countryside anyway!)

If you ask me they could have beach volleyball at Southend-On-Sea for that authentic British seaside feel!!

[CottonBear]

5. Gurning! That's it! What an odd contest. Removal of teeth is required!

You could call the competition the British Countryside Games! :)

You would need lots of eccentric characters as the contestants along with some hottie cheerleaders! I'm sure that there are many odd traditional games that could be incorporated into the event! I think that the beach volleyball idea is excellent. Is Southend-On-Sea one of those touristy beach resorts?

I hope that ya'll are doing OK over there since the awful bombings. Two young American sisters just got flown back to North Carolina to the Duke University Medical Center to recover from their wounds (shrapnel and fractured limbs). That scare in Birmingham was worrisome too. Stay safe!

Greetings from across the pond! :hi: CB

[T_i_B]

6. Southend?

Well it's the nearest beach to London, and it does have the whole "British seaside" thing going on. That said, it's a bit grotty IMHO. I was being a bit sarcastic when I mentioned Southend really.

Mind you, the beach Volleyball is at Horseguards Parade, which means the PM might be able to see it from his window! No wonder Blair backed the bid! :eyes:

As to the "British Countryside Games" idea, I'm afraid that all that lot will really want is for Fox-hunting to be legalized. (It was recently banned and that rankles with a lot of folk.)

[CatWoman]

4. here's some pics

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x3614610