It's sincerely difficult to fathom the idea of Friday evenings in the fall, in East Texas, without the bright glow of those Friday night lights. And as of this moment, they are still on. But for one South Texas school district, this has become a reality.

Will this become a trend across the great state of Texas? Many are hoping that won't be the case. Mary Louise Kelly of NPR recently spoke with Gary Cunningham, Athletic Director of Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco school district about the decision to cancel all of their sports for autumn.

Perhaps this wasn't a tremendous surprise, though. The school district had already decided to keep all of their classes online for the first nine weeks of the school year. So, extracurricular activities didn't make sense either.

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East Texans love fall sports. "Love" may not be a strong enough word to use. They are an integral part of our culture and one of the things we most look forward to as we nestle into the lovely fall season in East Texas. They're part of the fabric of our being here.

Clearly, there are many large issues that loom before us as we continue to do our best to navigate this strange year. Political turmoil and pandemics have raised the level of collective stress in East Texas to depressing levels. As we get closer to the beginning of the school year, many hope that we can at least get back to a semblance of normalcy. The return of fall sports may or may not be a part of that.

Surely not, right? Well, many beloved East Texas events have been cancelled, like the Texas Rose Festival. Others have been postponed, like Townsquare's much loved Red Dirt BBQ and Music Fest. But as of this moment, East Texas fall sports are still on. But, that could still change.

Most important, of course, is keeping our families and loved ones well and safe. East Texas is currently taking a different direction than Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco, with some of our school districts providing options for parents as to whether their kids will go in-person or do an online platform. We shall see.

In the meantime, it's imperative we keep doing all that we can to stay safe, wear the masks, wash the hands, so we can get back to doing the things we love--safely.

Including our beloved fall sports.

KEEP READING: See how sports around the world have been impacted by the coronavirus

 

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