The entrance the Clemson Tigers make for every home game is unique in that players run down the hill to the field after touching Howard’s Rock for good luck. As they do so, a massive amount of orange balloons would be released into the air to add to the visual of the moment. Starting this season, however, that part of the tradition may be removed entirely.
According to a report from TigerNet.com, the releasing of balloons will no longer be a part of the pregame entrance at Clemson. Per the original report;
The tradition of releasing balloons started as a stunt to set the world record for the largest balloon release, and it has remained a part of the home game tradition for over 30 years. The release of so many balloons does raise some environmental concerns, of course, and the concerns are similar to ones raised to Nebraska in recent years. Nebraska was sued by a Nebraska resident in 2016 over the release of balloons at Nebraska football games, claiming the release to be a threat to children and animals. After all, those ballons have to come down to the surface sometime. That lawsuit was later dismissed by a federal court.
Now that Clemson will no longer release balloons, we may have to rethink just where Clemson stands in the pecking order of the ACC and College Football Playoff picture. Clemson’s title hopes may have just been deflated as a result.