Two Australian women’s cricket teams were facing off at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday while a 10-year-old was taking on a three-kilogram watermelon in the stands.
Mitchell Schibeci caught the attention of game spectators and surprised channel surfers when television cameras zeroed in on him chomping away at the melon, rind and all.
The boy admitted that he wanted to do something wild to get on the video scoreboard, and decided that eating a watermelon like an apple would be the way to go.
“I’ve seen people do weird stuff and they get on the big screen, so I thought I might do it myself,” he told Australia’s Channel Nine.
It worked. He became an instant hit, sparking the hashtag #WatermelonBoy.
His father, a sports radio host, posted photos of his son’s progress with the melon. He eventually fell asleep with the leftover rind by his side.
“It was a lot more hard work than I thought it would be,” Mitchell told the BBC. He added that he has been eating watermelon rinds since he was two years old.
“I just like the taste of it,” he said.
He says he hopes to finish the whole watermelon next time.
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