Friday Night Lights celebrate local athletes
By Taylor J. Hale
MMC Staff Writer
CENTRAL WISCONSIN – Area athletes got a chance to see the glowing lights of their favorite fields for what might be the last time this season on April 3.
Area communities turned on the lights of local high school sports fields in response to athletes missing participation due to the COVID-19 outbreaks.
“Youth sports are an important part of growing up and not just for the kids,” Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza. “It is just as important to many parents. To be denied the ability to participate must be extremely disappointing, and we want to show that we understand that.”
Residents were also encouraged to turn on their porch lights to commemorate the 2020 sports seasons. Some student-athletes and their families walked around area parks and fields as a “last goodbye” for the year.
Wiza said the event was a way to get people out of the house for fresh air.
“We all have to deal with our challenges together in the pandemic,” Wiza explained. “We all have different struggles, but knowing there are others dealing with things, too, can be a little relief.”