University of Nebraska Sued over Balloon Release Touchdown Celebration

The Nebraska Cornhuskers may have to find another way to celebrate their first touchdown of the game if one fan has his way. 

According to ESPN.com's Josh Moyer, Omaha resident Randall S. Krause is suing the school, arguing the balloons released by fans during games causes environmental harm and poses a threat to children.

In his lawsuit, Krause alleges balloons from football games can end up in far-flung bodies of water, such as the Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, per Chris Dunker of the Lincoln Journal Star.

In 2011, Matt Havelka of the Daily Nebraskan wrote the school had taken proactive steps to ensure the tradition left as little an impact on the environment as possible:

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"Many years ago we switched to biodegradable balloons," [Chris Anderson, the director of athletic community relations] said. "That way we can keep the tradition alive without hurting the environment."

Additionally, when the balloons reach their maximum height of about five miles, the atmospheric pressure causes the balloons to expand and eventually shatter into thousands of tiny little pieces, which makes it nearly impossible for animals to eat.

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In 2014, however, Benjamin Vogt, an English lecturer at Nebraska, filed a petition to stop the balloon release. On his personal website, Vogt argued biodegradable balloons still took a long period to decompose, thus putting wildlife in danger if they attempted to ingest the balloons.

Clemson also releases balloons during football games, which led to a 2012 study by the university's Creative Inquiry. The study noted balloons can decompose more slowly in wet areas and travel up to hundreds of miles:

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It's important to remember that this research focused solely on natural latex balloons without any strings, ribbons, or plastic clasps, and the balloons were not tied together. The balloons degraded well in a variety of terrestrial environments, but took considerably longer in aquatic environments, raising concerns about their effects on marine life. To see if the balloons could travel as far as the ocean, the team used a combination of GPS devices to track movements. The balloons traveled a median distance of 23 miles, but two or three made it as far as 280 miles (the distance from Clemson to the shore is about 250 miles).

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Various schools' unique traditions are part of what sets college football apart. If that tradition is causing harm to local wildlife, though, then it would be a good idea to bring it to an end.

Perhaps Krause's lawsuit will make Nebraska take a more in-depth look to determine whether the balloons leave too large an environmental footprint.