The Soccer Ball is a novelty balloon from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
The Soccer Ball novelty balloon (alternatively named Macy's Star Celebration Soccer Ball) made its debut in the 2007 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, celebrating the world's most played game. The 12 foot balloon was filled with over 900 cubic feet of helium, allowing it to score the world’s largest goal from 77th Street to Herald Square.
In a September 2011 Macy's Balloon Training session, the Soccer Ball balloon was used as a test subject alongside Clifford the Big Red Dog and the newly-made Harold the Policeman.
The Soccer Ball balloon returned to the line of march in 2012, when it was given a fresh coat of paint by balloonatic Dany Jones in all the colors of the rainbow.[1] The balloon retired after that year's procession and it would make its official return in over a decade at the 2025 Parade.