The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company set the Guinness World Record for constructing the World’s Largest Game of Cornhole to kickoff a week of celebration leading up to the 80th Annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on December 31 in Arlington, Texas.
Measuring an astounding 64 feet by 32 feet, the super-sized version of the traditional tailgate game, cornhole, was paired up with another larger-than-life college football tradition—the Goodyear Blimp. As their school mascots cheered from the ground, cheerleaders from Michigan State University and the University of Alabama flew more than 200 feet above the massive cornhole game board to toss beanbags out of Goodyear’s newest blimp, Wingfoot One. The students competed for bragging rights in the larger-than-life game of cornhole as their teams prepare to face off in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on New Year’s Eve. The epic game ended in a 1-1 tie.
“Over the past 60 years, the Goodyear Blimp has become a familiar sight for fans at college football matchups across the country,” said Seth Klugherz, director of Goodyear brand marketing. “Setting a Guinness World Record® featuring the blimp and this classic tailgate game was a fitting way to bring these gameday traditions together while generating excitement for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic later this week.”
The Goodyear Blimp first provided stunning aerial views of the 1955 Rose Bowl, revolutionizing the way fans experience sporting events. In the years since, Goodyear’s iconic airship has covered some of the biggest matchups in college football history, offering its own unique perspective of the action on the ground.
The giant game board was constructed at the Goodyear Blimp base in Pompano Beach, Fla. and is 16 times larger than a standard cornhole board, which measures a mere four feet by two feet. In all, it would take 8,192 regulation-sized cornhole beanbags to cover the entire surface of this new world record-holding structure.
“Goodyear continues the raise the bar with their creativity and ingenuity surrounding the sponsorship of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic,” said Michael Konradi, Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic chief marketing officer. “This year, their tremendous marketing and communications team is certainly taking the Classic to new heights.”