ESPN will kick off its annual “ESPN8: The Ocho” day of programming Thursday night time on ESPN2.
Impressed by the fictional channel that broadcasts the finals within the traditional 2004 film “Dodgeball,” on Thursday night time, Friday and Saturday morning ESPN2 might be rebranded as “The Ocho,” with programming together with a few of the most obscure sports activities to be present in aggressive play.
Listed here are explanations for eight of the wackiest, most unknown and outright random occasions set to be proven:
Mullet championships
Maybe the strangest “sport” broadcasted on The Ocho — no straightforward feat given the competitors — are the mullet championships. Occupying the 1:30 a.m. slot, the occasion incorporates a showcase of a few of the most brash and classic hairstyles within the land. The winner is topped Mullet Champ and is awarded a gilded trophy.
Teqball
Image a fusion of soccer and desk tennis. That, in essence, is teqball. That includes a specifically curved desk, the game will be performed each one-on-one or 2-on-2, and entails gamers rallying a soccer ball backwards and forwards over a internet utilizing any a part of their our bodies however their palms and arms. One of many sports activities ambassadors? None apart from probably the most skillful soccer gamers of all time in Ronaldinho.
Onewheel
The outline of this sport is within the title. Onewheel racing is akin to your conventional BMX race, besides as a substitute of driving bikes, contestants journey onewheels. Consider a skateboard however with … effectively, one wheel. Riders navigate tough terrain, ramps and extra as they give the impression of being to finish the course within the quickest time.
Excel world championship
For each spreadsheet wizard within the workplace on the market, that is the game for you. That includes a knockout-style bracket, the excel championships pit the very best of the very best on Microsoft’s staple work program towards one another, every vying to be the quickest to finish a wide range of Excel-related duties.
Slippery stairs
What occurs once you put 5 opponents in slicked bodysuits on the backside of a lubricated set of stairs? The game of slippery stairs. Originating from a Japanese recreation present of the identical title, slippery stairs checks athletes talents to take care of their stability in a remarkably unforgiving surroundings. Tumbles are aplenty, and the primary to ring the bell on the prime of the steps is topped champion.
Omegaball
Becoming a member of teqball within the class of “sport derived in a point from soccer,” omegaball is performed with three objectives and three groups. Performed on a round pitch, the sport play is broadly akin to soccer, albeit with some minor tweaks. Notably, each ball out of play turns into a nook kick, play resumes instantly after objectives (no center-pitch kickoffs) and there isn’t any offsides. In truth, omegaball’s official guidelines explicitly endorse cherry-picking as “inspired.”
Chase tag
Knowledgeable spinoff on a longtime playground traditional, world chase tag takes the schoolyard recreation up a notch. Performed indoors on an obstacle-laden enclosure, chase tag requires gamers to be not simply quick but in addition adept climbers. “Taggers” have 20 seconds to get to the “runner” as a way to safe victory of their 1v1 rep.
Steinholding
A German sport that, lately, has made its option to America, steinholding is the ultimate — and maybe most evident — submission to the “title actually explains the occasion” class. Steinholders are every given a full one-liter beer stein, and have to carry it out with a straight arm. The longest steinholder to take care of their kind with out dropping their arm (or the stein) is said the champion. The present United States males’s document? Twenty-one minutes and 17 seconds, held by Michael Tyler since 2018.
