by KYW's Lauren Lipton
We all know that Philadelphia is famous for many things, but did you know this one?
"Rock crushes scissors, Le Tigre from Spicy Brown, point number one!"
Shawn Ring is executive director of the Philadelphia Rock-Paper-Scissors City League:
"This is probably the best place for Rock-Paper-Scissors anywhere in the world."
That's the game where pairs of players face off with hand signs, picking a rock (fist), a piece of paper (flat hand), or a pair of scissors (two fingers in a 'V'). The winner of each faceoff is determined by the following: paper "covers" rock; rock "breaks" scissors; or scissors "cuts" paper.
Ring says that hundreds of people are competing in a weeks-long tournament to find Philadelphia's R-P-S champ:
"First match, 'Like a Puma' versus the 'Paper Tiger!' "
And this is serious business.
(Ring:) "Oh yeah, you have to train. Definitely have to train."
The players all have nicknames, and B-Pac hopes he can regain the number one spot:
"I plan on being like the Phillies, coming back in the ninth inning."
Some tourists from Finland stopped in Philadelphia because of our international R-P-S reputation.
(Ring:) "They've been here for a tournament a couple of years ago, and they were pretty excited about getting back to Philly. In fact, I heard at the end of their vacation they were talking about taking a detour back through Philly so they could play at another one."
This game is played all over the world, even though it might be called by different names.
(Ring:) "Roshambo is probably the most common other name for it, where people just say, 'I'll roshambo you for it.' Jan Ken Pon in Japan. In Germany, I think it's Schnick Schnack Schnuck."
The league's regular season continues through June 13th, where the champion will be crowned and awarded a $1,000 grand prize. For more information, visit the league web site at www.rpscityleague.com
That's Positively Philadelphia!
(File photo)
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