Nerf Battle is Expected to be, well, Epic!

Who knew that Nerf was more of a thing than little kids throwing foam balls at each other? I didnt. So when I caught wind of an event happening at AT&T stadium this weekend billed as “The worlds largest Nerf battle,” my interest was a little piqued. A huge stadium filled with kids and foam balls? Theres got to be more to it than that.

Turns out Nerf is WAY bigger than that. Originally developed in 1969 by games-maker Parker Brothers, the Nerf ball was indeed the entire product line. The 4-inch ball was marketed as a safe way to play ball indoors. “Throw it indoors; you cant damage lamps or break windows. You cant hurt babies or old people.” By the end of 1970, more than 4 million Nerf balls had been sold. Through a series of acquisitions, control of the product landed with toy giant Hasbro in 1991. The company accelerated development of Nerf products into several lines, the most popular of which became the Nerf Blaster.

In its most basic form, the Nerf Blaster is simply a toy gun that shoots foam darts. In its not-so-basic form the Blaster is the culmination of years of refinement, with models that can fire several rounds a second with a firing range of up to 100 feet. Dont worry, the “rounds” were talking about wont kill you or anyone else. In the excitement of a Nerf battle, you might not even feel yourself getting hit.

A typical Nerf blaster. This one holds 6 darts and can fire up to 90 feet.

The worlds largest Nerf battle is the brainchild of Jared Guynes, a Rockwall resident who currently holds the Guinness World Record for the largest toy pistol fight. In March of 2016, 2,289 participants converged on AT&T stadium carrying over 4,300 Nerf blasters. This beat the previous record by almost 1700. The record has yet to be officially broken. Proceeds from the event went to the Rebuild Rowlett Foundation and Garland Tornado Relief Fund.

Saturdays event is scheduled to run from 7pm to 11pm, and will feature Nerf YouTube celebrities from all over North America. If the names Drac the Nerf Vampire, Aaron Esser and Paul Kousky mean anything to you, you probably already have tickets. Currently registered participants are coming from 36 states and 6 countries. Over 3,000 tickets have already been sold.

Tickets are $30 per person and includes a self guided tour of the stadium and a $30 gift certificate from Cousins Paintball in Forney. They can be ordered online at epicnerfbattle.com. A portion of the proceeds will again go to local charities.