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Redneck Olympics Will Return, Despite USOC

January 02, 2012 - Hebron — The Redneck Olympics will be back in 2012, and they'll be bigger than ever.

With just two months of planning, organizer Harold Brooks attracted about 2,600 people to his land in August for music, mud runs, lawnmower racing and eight “events,” including bobbing for pigs feet and toilet seat horseshoes.

In August 2012, Brooks said, the event will be bigger, with more music, stand-up comedy and events that run from Friday through Sunday. At the 2011 games, most of the action was on Saturday.

After the response from the first games, Brooks said he expects a much bigger crowd the next time around. "We think we'll have probably 6,000 people,” he said.

Brooks said he plans to bring up a rodeo from Connecticut and country western music performers. The 2012 games will take place on the first weekend of August, as they did in 2011.

And he's not worried about the United States Olympic Committee.

The day after the 2011 Redneck Olympics ended, Brooks received a phone call from the USOC's legal department asking him not to use the word “Olympics” next year. A 1978 law gives the USOC exclusive rights to the words “Olympic” and “Olympian” in the United States.

The USOC has sued organizations for use of the word. In November, the owner of the former International Institute of Olympic and Sports History settled with the USOC following a lawsuit and agreed to drop the word “Olympic” from the name of a planned Pennsylvania museum.

Brooks said he plans to sell a T-shirt that says “Redneck” followed by eight blank spaces and a hangman. “When they ask me what the word is, I'll say the word is bull****,” Brooks said. “Because it's bull**** I can't use the word 'Olympics.'”

He said he hasn't heard from the commission since its initial communication and a letter sent in August. He said he hasn't spoken with a lawyer about the issue yet.

“I don't know what they can sue me for,” Brooks said. “I'm not damaging them.”

Tony Reaves, Sun Journal, January 2012


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