Florida Man Games
Whether it’s riding a human-sized hamster wheel across the Atlantic Ocean or wielding a machete in a road rage incident, the notorious Florida Man always seems to be making headlines. The Florida Man phenomenon is connected to Florida’s reputation as the “punchline state.” The Daily Show hypothesized the reason news outlets are able to write such bizarre stories on Florida is because of Florida’s Public Records Laws. Florida has the most extensive open records laws in the country, which allows the public to access police reports. Next year, a Florida-style competition aims to give Sunshine State residents a chance to compete in tests of beer belly sumo wrestling, evading the police and knocking each other into the mud with pool noodles. The Florida Man Games are coming to St. Augustine for the first time on Feb. 24. The Florida Man meme has been circulating through popular culture since around 2013, and has been featured in shows and books like a limited Netflix series of the same name, an X-Files comic book and FX’s Atlanta. The event was dreamt up by Pete Melfi, a St. Augustine native who owns, “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?’
Just as quickly as Melfi’s idea was made public, he experienced a surge of interest from people far and wide, The events planned are as follows:
Weaponized Pool Noodle Mud Duel
Evading Arrest Obstacle Course
Category 5 Hurricane Cash Grab
Beer Belly Florida Sumo wrestling
911 Fight Night, Brawl of the Badges
Attendees can experience selfies with alligators, a barbecue competition and “cultural demonstrations.” Tickets cost $45 for general admission. Ultimately, the inaugural Florida Man Games aim to provide a day of light-hearted competition and fun that celebrates the whacky and wild side of Florida. “If you had a fever and you really had Florida on your mind when you went to sleep, this would be your fever dream,” Melfi said. To learn more, visit – thefloridamangames.com.
Florida man Funnies (ripped from the headlines)
Jan. 1, 2015: Florida man trapped in unlocked closet for two days…
John Arwood, 31, and Amber Campbell, 25, thought they were stuck in a janitor’s closet at Daytona State College for two days — before realizing they could just open the door and walk out.
October 17, 2023: When central Florida police officers arrived at the house of a suspect named Johnny Yates, who was wanted for aggravated battery, they were met with a whiteboard on the front porch that read “Johnny Yates does NOT live here!” After a person leaving the house told police Yates was inside, they used smoke to lure him out, but they ultimately had to use K9 dogs to find Yates hiding in a “modified chest of drawers.”
January 7, 2020: A Florida man accused of extorting a car dealership posed as the prosecutor of his own case and attempted to drop charges against himself. After authorities investigated the case, they charged him with seven additional charges, including falsely impersonating a prosecutor and practicing law with authority.
Florida man wanted for stealing police tires!
Police are working tirelessly to catch and apprehend the person at large…
October 27th Birthdays
1997 – Samantha Logan, 1987 – Alba Flores, 1963 – Marla Maples, 1950 – Fran Leibowitz
1858 – Teddy Roosevelt, 1939 – John Cleese, 1949 – Bruce Springsteen, 1987 – Andrew Bynum