Corgi Races, Sign Spinning, And… Mullets?! Here Are the Nuttiest Events ESPN is Televising in its Annual Tribute to Freak Show Competitions
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ESPN’s celebration of the bizarre side of sports is back.
ESPN8: The Ocho — inspired by the fictional channel of the same name in the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story — returns to ESPN2 at 7 p.m. Thursday. From there, viewers will be treated to 43 hours of nonstop, obscure competition.
A number of programs will be making their debut to The Ocho, including the Masskrugstemmen Stein Holding Competition, Corgi Races, World Dog Surfing Championship Best Waves, and the Microsoft Excel World Championship.
The first competition of the weekend will be a banana ball game between the Savannah Bananas and The Party Animals. Banana ball is a unique twist on baseball with a handful of odd rules, like foul balls being counted as outs if caught by a fan.
At 9 p.m., the 2023 American Cornhole League Pro Shootout Championship will be broadcast. That will be followed by the 2023 Table Hockey World Championships 10 p.m., Red Bull Fierste Ljepper at 10:30, and SlamBall at 11.
For those looking to stay up a little later, The Ocho has quite a lineup on the schedule. The 2020 USA Mullet Championships begin at 1:30 a.m. Friday; the 2021 Air Guitar Championships will air at 2 a.m.; and the 2022 Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship will begin at 3 a.m.
Early risers also have something to look forward to Friday. At 6:30 a.m., The Ocho will air the 2023 Wisconsin Auctioneers Championship. The Microsoft Excel World Championship will follow it at 7 a.m. Arm Wrestling Reborn begins at 8:30.
Throughout the weekend, there will also be Slippery Stairs (Friday at 6 p.m.), pillow fighting (Friday, 10 p.m.), and even sign spinning (Saturday, 8 a.m.).
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