And one of those things is a man wearing only a chainmail thong battling the cast of the Real World with foam swords.
Which is exactly what happened last night in Colonel Summers Park.
People have shown up at Colonel Summers on Monday nights for years now to hang out, continuing a loose tradition called "Monday Funday" that started when Zoobombers started playing dodgeball in the park on Monday nights. This year, it's gotten absolutely bonkers in the park on Mondays, with all sorts of people turning up to play kickball, dodgeball, VERY VERY serious hacky sack, spin hula hoops, fight with fake knives, walk slacklines, ride tall bikes, distribute free food, play keyboards strapped to the backs of bikes, and imbibe alcohol, among other activities. Portland Parks has stepped up enforcement of open container laws in the park, with uniformed rangers strolling the SE Portland park every Monday, writing tickets and asking people in various states of Burning Man attire to pour out drinks. The chainmail thong guy is there most every Monday with a supply of foam weapons to stage battles but because his hands are always full of LARPing weapons and not beer, the rangers pay him no mind.
Anyway, it was into this mess that a car-full of people with clipboards and cameras poured last night, just before sunset, with a cadre of suspiciously tan and muscular individuals in regulation bro attire right behind them. The suspiciously tan and muscular individuals picked up foam weapons and engaged in battle for a while with the thonged warrior, before jumping into a very competitive dodgeball game.
In case you're worried about how Portland will come off on national television, no worries. We will be well-represented by this guy:
