Renewed push to end Husker red balloon tradition

Posted By: Alden German
agerman@klkntv.com

Husker game day balloons have been a tradition for decades, but a new billboard wants the tradition to stop. It’s the latest attempt to stop the famous tradition.

As a new Huskers season approaches, so does a new attempt to ground the iconic red balloons. Recently, a billboard appeared along Highway 2 telling Nebraska fans "Stop Littering, End The balloon Release!" The billboard was paid for by balloonsblow.org, a Florida-based organization dedicated to stopping balloon and other plastic littering.

Danielle Vosburgh is co-founder of the group and has been battling the university on the issue for years.

"Nebraska just seems to not care about trashing their own state and beyond because balloons can travel over 10,000 miles. They aren’t just polluting their own areas, they’re polluting areas they have no idea even exist," said Vosburgh.

Some have criticized Vosburgh’s group saying someone in Florida shouldn’t care about traditions in Nebraska.

"They should go cheer for the Gators and let us cheer for the Huskers and keep our traditions," said Huskers fan Rod Hindmand.

Others say they understand the environmental concern, but would be disappointed if it stopped.

"You know I wouldn’t be extremely upset but it’d be sad to see it go for sure," said Austin Reule, a junior at UNL.

The university has been dealing with Balloons Blow for years. In a statement to us, Nebraska athletics said:

We haven’t  discontinued our balloon tradition, but we recognize the concerns raised about our environment and our birds, fish and animal friends.  We too are concerned with their safety.  For that reason, every balloon released in Memorial Stadium is 100 percent natural latex biodegradable, as purchased from Midwest Balloon in Omaha.  In addition, we do not use plastic tabs to tie off the balloons and use 100 percent cotton strings.

However Vosburgh says that’s just not true.

"The biodegradable bit is just a lie from the balloon industry. It’s just propaganda," said Vosburgh. "They take that from a study that was done from a man in the balloon industry. It’s almost a 30 year old study now."

Vosburgh says her group has proof of Nebraska’s iconic balloons being found hundreds of miles away in Kansas and even Michigan. Nebraska did briefly stop releasing balloons during the 2012 season because of a global helium shortage, but resumed the practice the following season. Others provided us with pictures showing Nebraska’s red balloons in various places 

Nebraska is not the only school to have a balloon release tradition. Clemson university also releases balloons, but announced in July that they would stop the practice for their upcoming season.