Floridians embrace stereotypes at inaugural Florida Man Games

Events included wrestling sumo-style while holding pitchers of beer, and running from actual sheriff’s deputies while jumping fences and avoiding obstacles.

The first-ever Florida Man Games, promoted as “the most insane athletic showdown on Earth,” took place amidst a sea of mullets, beer helmets, and patriotic shirts in St. Augustine, on Feb. 24.

Promoted as “the most insane athletic showdown on Earth,” the games poke fun at the state’s reputation for bizarre stories that involve brawling, drinking, gunfire, reptile wrangling, and other antics carrying a risk of time in jail or intensive care.

The games kicked off with the “Star Spangled Banner” played on electric guitar. Then spectators crowded around a tent to watch competitors chow down on a plateful of barbecue pork and a pair of sausages to see who could finish first.

James Gordon of DeLand won the meat match by a fraction of a second, then chugged a beer to celebrate.

Several thousand people paid real money to come cheer a dozen teams at the debut event in St. Augustine, as well as contests and sideshows inspired by real events from America’s most surreal state.

One of the events requires competitors to switch between bikes while toting a catalytic converter and a handful of copper pipes, common items in Florida theft stories.

Other events involve contenders wrestling sumo-style while holding pitchers of beer, or running from actual sheriff’s deputies while jumping fences and avoiding obstacles.

Some signed up to duel with pool noodles over a mud-filled pool, while others faced a scramble to grab cash flying in simulated hurricane winds.

Florida Man Games organizer Pete Melfi expected more than 5,000 spectators paying $45 or more per ticket to join the fun at the city’s Francis Field.

The “Florida Man” phenomenon seeped into the nation’s conscience thanks in part to a Twitter account that started in 2013 with the handle @_FloridaMan.

The account touted “real-life stories of the world’s worst superhero,” sharing news headlines such as “Florida Man Bites Dog to ‘Establish Dominance’” and “Florida Man Tried to Pay for McDonald’s With Weed.”

Florida’s claim to being the strangest state goes back much further, said Craig Pittman, a Florida journalist who wrote the book “Oh, Florida! How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country.” He noted that the first flag to fly over its state Capitol in 1845 bore the motto “Let Us Alone.”

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