Dwarf wrestling drew a large crowd of RAGBRAI riders in Dallas Center on Tuesday.

“I cannot believe how crazy it is,” said Tiffany Filloon, owner of The Longest Yard. “We definitely gave them a reason to stick around.”

The event faced some roadblocks earlier in the summer when at a May Dallas Center City Council meeting concerns were raised regarding the appropriateness of having dwarfs wrestle.

Another setback occurred when the wrestling promoter the bar was working got arrested in late May.

However, in June, the Longest Yard partnered with a different wrestling promoter, and the city council approved street closures that enabled the bar to host the event.

On Tuesday, thousands of RAGBRAI riders stopped to look at the wrestling show. The beer garden near the wrestling ring was packed full.

“We got lucky with the weather,” Tiffany Filloon said. “They’re packed in likes sardines but it’s not so bad because it’s not that hot.”

Brian Filloon, owner of The Longest Yard and Tiffany’s husband, said at least 300 cases of beer were sold by about noon.

The Longest Yard was also selling a shirt that read, “size doesn’t matter” and “it’s not a party without midgets.” Tiffany Filloon said almost all of the 300 shirts were sold by around noon.

Impact Pro Wrestling brought three dwarfs to the Dallas Center show. The crowd seemed to cheer the loudest for these three wrestlers.

“People just keep asking, ‘Where do I go to see the midgets?’” Tiffany Filloon said.

Michelle Windmoeller and Dana Simonson of Columbia, Mo. said they are not wrestling fans, but enjoyed the creativity of the event.

“I’ve never seen this before on RAGBRAI. It was definitely a change-up,” said Windmoeller, who has done RAGBRAI three times.

Simonson, who has done RAGBRAI nine times, said the Dallas Center stop was in the top five of the best stops she has been on.

“There’s a good variety of entertainment,” Simonson said. “The crowd is definitely getting into it.”

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