Olympic Spirit

Published August 26, 2011

The Redneck Olympics was held early this month in Hebron, Maine for the 15th year in a row. But there may not be one next year.

The U.S. Olympic Committee is threatening to sue the Redneck Olympics’ organizer over use of the word “Olympics,” to which the committee claims it has exclusive rights under federal law.

Such laws are intended to prevent confusion between the official Olympics and ersatz ones. That’s not likely here. The Redneck Olympics include “wife-carrying, beer-swilling, bobbing for pigs’ feet, toilet-seat horseshoes, lawn mower races, a mud run, and a pie-eating contest.”

The organizer of the Redneck Olympics doesn’t plan to change the event’s name. “It’s a word that was used by the ancient Greeks,” he said. “We’re not going to drop it.”

Source: Rachel Quigley, “Redneck Olympics warned by real Olympics to drop name or face lawsuit,” Daily Mail, August 11, 2011