'Florida Man Games' Pokes Fun at State's Reputation

Contestants will be chased by real cops on 'Evading Arrest Obstacle Course'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 25, 2023 5:10 PM CDT
'Florida Man Games' Will Feature Obstacle Courses
An alligator swims at the Everglades National Park.   (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, file)

It ain't the Olympics, but a group of Floridians plan to host competitions themed according to the collective antics of the beer-loving, gator-possessing, rap-sheet heavy, mullet-wearing social media phenomenon known as "Florida Man." Organizers of the "Florida Man Games" describe the competition as "the most insane athletic showdown on Earth." The games will poke fun at Florida's reputation for producing strange news stories involving guns, drugs, booze, and reptiles—or some combination of the four, the AP reports.

Among the contests planned for next February in St. Augustine, Florida, according to organizers, are the Evading Arrest Obstacle Course in which contestants jump over fences and through yards while being chased by real police officers; the Category 5 Cash Grab in which participants try to grab as much money in a wind-blowing booth; and the self-explanatory beer-belly wrestling. "This isn't just a competition; it's a one-of-a-kind Floridian spectacle!" organizers said on the games' website. General admission tickets to the event are going for $45. Two former stars of the 1990s television show American Gladiators have agreed to serve as referees.

A St. Augustine resident is behind the games: Pete Melfi, owner of The 904 Now , a media outlet covering St. Johns County. "We thought, 'How can we really play on these Florida Man headlines that we hear so much about?' Someone gave me the idea to make it into an athletic competition," Melfi tells the Orlando Sentinel. "It's going to be a wild day of mud games and Florida-style obstacle courses. It's going to really be an opportunity to live that Florida Man life for a day."

(More Florida stories.)

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