By now, we’ve all heard about the big “Storm Area 51” event on Facebook. It was the talk of the summer in 2019, something that started out as a joke, with plans of Naruto runners and “Kyles” hopped up on energy drinks gaining access because “they can’t stop all of us.”
It unexpectedly blew up into massive proportions, with more than two million people pledging to show up to the super-secret Nevada military installation to check out any aliens that might be there.
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As odd as it sounds, the Air Force took it all quite seriously, including the bit about Naruto runners whizzing around the base.
If we take nothing else from this whole Area 51 thing this summer, let us rejoice in the fact that the Air Force went through a whole briefing to update its service members on the history and practice of Naruto running. Our armed forces have never been so well prepared for the absolutely absurd.
Of course, the question on everybody’s mind was, would anybody actually show up on the appointed day? Well, it has finally arrived, and the answer is yes.
With safety concerns giving pause to the event and the original organizer backing off from it fearing a humanitarian disaster if even a fraction of the two million promised attendees showed up, nobody was sure exactly what would happen. Events were scheduled, including a large music festival dubbed Alienstock, which caused some drama ahead of the big day, but who would show up?
Turns out, plenty of people.
It didn’t get off to the most promising start for those who want to see them aliens.
Dozens, but far from millions, did approach the gates and gathered around to shout and holler, but apart from a couple of overly enthusiastic people who had to be taken aside by law enforcement, it was a peaceful affair.
But yes, there were Naruto runners.
Arms back, heads down, they zoomed about the desert, but it seems that they didn’t go anywhere near the base, never mind storming the gates.
The lasting image of the day goes to this lad, who Naruto ran through a live local news broadcast.
No, we haven’t seen any aliens yet, but the whole thing looks like a pretty good time for camping out and meeting equally fun, weird folks who share common interests in little green men and getting plenty of anime-inspired exercise, if nothing else.
