4C
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016
PARTING SHOT FROM EDWARD STRATTON
A weekly snapshot from The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer photographers
Beachgoers frolick in the mist at Sunset Beach in July.
ODDITY
Redneck (Blank), yeah!
Rednecks hold their blanking
Summer Games in Hebron, Maine
By DAVID SHARP
Associated Press
HEBRON, Maine — There
were no world-class athletes
or top-notch sporting venues,
but there was cold beer, bar-
becue and a muddy tug-of-war
last weekend at the event for-
merly known as the Redneck
Olympics.
The event, now ofi-
cially known as the “Red-
neck (Blank)” after the real
Olympics threatened to sue,
also featured bobbing for
pig’s feet, a greased water-
melon haul and toilet seat
horseshoes.
If that’s not redneck
enough, then there was a
wife-hauling contest and free
mud runs for big-tired trucks.
Organizer Harold Brooks
said it’s all about regular folks
having fun without airs of
pretentiousness.
“For me, a redneck doesn’t
mean a person who’s dumb
or lazy. A redneck to me
means someone who can
laugh at themselves. They’re a
hard-working group of people
who can let loose and have a
good time,” he said.
“A big, dirty party’
On Saturday, a cacoph-
ony of loud music and roar-
ing engines were set against
a dusty backdrop in the hills
of western Maine where sev-
eral thousand people gath-
ered. People paraded around in
every manner of vehicle: pick-
ups, all-terrain vehicles, dirt
bikes, go-karts — and even a
snowmobile.
Many spectators watching
the trucks churning across the
mud course ended up covered
in mud themselves.
“It’s a big, dirty party,” said
Sara Miller, of Manchester,
New Hampshire.
AP Photo/David Sharp
Spectators cheer as a pickup truck splashes through mud at an event formerly called the Redneck Olympics last weekend in Hebron, Maine. The
organizer now calls the event the “Redneck Blank” after Olympic officials complained about the name.
Crowds were encouraged
to get into the act during the
“competition,” but actual ath-
letic skills were not a require-
ment. For example, one of the
events called the “beer trot”
featured an obstacle course
that participants traversed
while carrying a beer in each
hand. The goal was to inish
quickly — without spilling.
There were faux gold, sil-
ver and bronze medals for win-
ners. But these aren’t Olym-
pic events. The U.S. Olympic
Committee put the kibosh on
the “Redneck Olympics” name
in 2011, Brooks said.
Big for its britches
That doesn’t mean red-
necks went down without a
ight.
On Saturday, T-shirts were
emblazoned with “Redneck
Olympics” — with “Olym-
pics” crossed out.
Brooks said his event is
more fun and affordable than
the real Olympic Games,
which he believes has grown
too big for its britches.
“The average redneck
couldn’t afford to go the Olym-
pics,” he said.
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