After the Gopher vs. Michigan football game, I was sorry for two reasons: our loss and our loss. I graciously left it up to the coaches to deal with the team loss, but I do wish to address the other loss: the environmental hit we all took. At the start of this home game, one yellow pom-pom was neatly draped over every stadium seat. Shall we say 50,000 (attendance surpassed 54,000) of these plastic pieces? At the end of the game, thousands of them lay scattered among the popcorn hulls, peanut shells and beer spills waiting for their final thrust into a landfill. Wouldn’t this money have been much better spent on a food shelf, or holiday children’s program, or something along those lines? This Gopher fan is truly disappointed that the University of Minnesota is not taking, certainly not showing, a stronger lead on the environmental front. Was this frivolous, fleeting fun really worth so many footprints?

Cheryl Wilke

Bloomington resident