Come to Georgia and Get Your Red Neck On

Typical adornment at the Red Neck Games.

News Item from the Macon Telegraph:

EAST DUBLIN, Ga. — A man runs, jumps and then bellyflops into a hole dug in the red Georgia clay and filled with water — he comes out relatively clean. Even after spending some time trying to pull up some clay, he’s still clean as far as things go. This proves unacceptable.

The crowd of onlookers surrounding the pool is parted, some begin to complain.

A backhoe arrives, inserts its large arm deep into water, lifts a heap of earth high, and releases it, splashing muddy water on those standing around the pit. The crowd is dirtier, happier.

It’s that time of year where East Dublin, a little town south of Atlanta on the Oconee River, takes on the mantel of Sturgess South, although you don’t need to ride a Harley-Davison to feel like one of the crowd. In fact, all you needed to feel at home on this particular Saturday was one or more of the following: bib overalls; anything with the Confederate Flag on it; a mullet; less than a full mouth of teeth.

Yep, last Saturday was the 13th annual Redneck Games, drawing thousands of people from around Georgia and the South, all there to proudly pronounce themselves, well, rednecks.

The games were originally established as a tongue-in-cheek response to the 1986 Atlanta Olympics. So, or course, there are sporting events. It’s just that they have a certain, er, redneck flavor. There was the Toilet Seat Toss (Redneck Horseshoes). There was the Bobbin’ fer Pig’s Feet contest. There was the melodious (and odious) Armpit Serenade.

Elizabeth Curry of Augusta takes the dive into the mud pit on her fifth trip to the Redneck Games.

But the highlight of the day was the Mudpit Bellyfloppin’ competition, which was held in a pit dug out of the red Georgia clay and filled with river water. When the original pit wasn’t dirty enough, a backloader dug up the muck a little more to get that certain viscosity needed to get just the right coating of mud.

“We like to be dirty,” said April Wright, 19, of Birmingham, Ala., to the reporter from the Telegraph. Elizabeth Curry, 39, of Augusta, Ga., said she practiced for the event by belly flopping into a pool. “This hurts a little more,” she said.

Preston Wright, 42, from Eastman, Ga., offered advice for those jumping into the mud: “just get a good running start (and) don’t get too much mud up your nose and in your ears.” He didn’t offer any strategy on how, though.

And, of course, Confederate flags could be spotted through out the games, with attendees wearing the flag in every way imaginable, from bandannas and sun visors to bikinis and capes.

Now, I have to admit that the Redneck Games sorta snuck up on me (maybe it was the camouflage) this year, and I didn’t know it was happening this weekend. But after viewing the photos and reading the reports, next year, I’m there. You can keep your Burning Man. I’m heading to the Redneck Games. How am I every going to figger out who my neighbors are if I don’t watch them in their natural habitat.

April Covington of Sylvania clambers out of the mudpit at the Redneck Games.	Eric Outler, last years winner in the "Redneck Horseshoes" event, taunts the crowd before his throw.
Arm pit serenade winner Aubrey Matthews performs his best song, "Dixie."	Jeremiah Hatfield drove from central Florida to bob for pigs feet and the other Redneck games.

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