When Nebraska scores the first points in the Scott Frost era balloons are going to be released in Memorial Stadium. But some believe Nebraska should that end that tradition.
It's a practice that goes back to the Bob Devaney era when the Huskers put their first points on the board red balloons are released into the sky.
"My dad told me about the letting go of balloons back when he was an undergrad, so I think to get rid of the storied tradition would be a really sad thing to do," says student Dylan Lyness.
But some say the practice should stop immediately. An environmental group called "Balloons Blow" put up this billboard in Lincoln recently, saying the environmental concerns are too high and that Nebraska should end the practice that many students deem sacred.
"I think we should keep on doing it. I don't really see a problem with it. Yeah it's probably bad for the bad environment but I love to see when I score that first touchdown all the balloons go in the air," says student, Austin Nickels.
"I think they should continue to do it because it is tradition and it's just something that the community loves to see and loves to do," says Myiesha Hartman, UNL student.
But not all agree
"As a fan, I don't think that just because it's tradition, doesn't mean that we should continue to do it. Because traditions change, they shift, You could always change the tradition, you could use something other than balloons," says student, Cheyenne Townsley.
The athletic department says they understand the environmental concerns and said in a statement, “Every balloon released in Memorial Stadium is 100 percent natural latex biodegradable. In addition, we do not use plastic tabs to tie off the balloons and we use 100 percent cotton strings.”
Clemson recently ended their balloon tradition, therefore Nebraska stands alone as currently the only major school to keep it going.
This is not the first time this issue has been brought up, a couple years ago UNL was sued, but that case was later dismissed.
