A narrow no-man’s-land separated the opposing armies arrayed in blue and orange on one side and green and pink on the other. Anticipation ran high, and officials strained to keep forces calm until they gave the order. At last, the command came and weapons were unleashed, drenching the field and leaving behind the debris of war—remnants of 120,021 water balloons.
On July 23 the Cougar Cooldown broke the world record for the largest water balloon fight, stealing the title from the University of Kentucky. Dozens of volunteers spent 48 hours (straight) filling balloons for the 3,927 people who heeded the battle cry. The skirmish itself was a wild melee of brightly colored balloons, filling the air like a swarm of bees for all of six minutes while the BYU Ad Lab filmed a music video for Nashville musician Kyle Andrews.
Unfortunately, the record was short lived. Kentucky took it back a month later with a water balloon fight that included more than 150,000 balloons and nearly 6,000 people.
Watch the Cougar Cooldown in Kyle Andrews’ “You Make Me Smile” music video at more.byu.edu/cooldown.