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Lights Out?
Rumored end to nighttime football games mobilizes the high school community
By GEORGE MOORE
Last month the Fremont Union High School District, and officials from all its schools, gathered to discuss the possibility of dimming the lights on a couple of football games. Some in the community did not take the news lightly.
In fact, school district officials were barraged with email and phone calls from angry parents--some who thought the district was planning a ban on all Friday night games.
When news touches a nerve in people, it tends to move swiftly and can get blown out of proportion.
Such was the case last month, but the controversy subsided when Mike Hawkes, associate superintendent, moved quickly to douse the fire.
"We are not trying to do away with night football games," Hawkes said. "We have no preconceived feelings about which way we're going to go in the future."
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Monta Vista sophomore Daniel Kobylenski carries the ball during afternoon practice at the high school.
What Hawkes and company would like is some data and feedback from the schools after the daytime football experiments to find out if there are any concerns or any positives that might occur.
Hawkes and other superintendents met with local principals in the spring to discuss concerns regarding the football program, including how to increase general interest, costs and the energy problem. They got together again last month to further discuss an idea to have two home games played either Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.
Because Monta Vista and Lynbrook play their home games at Cupertino's field, and Homestead plays at Fremont, the idea was to play more games at individual sites to see if general interest increased.
There was also a cost-savings factor: fewer off-duty police officers would need to be hired, and not as many school officials would need to be on site.
"Many schools in our league play some of their games Friday afternoon or Saturday morning because there seems to be an interest and a fit there," Hawkes said.
Some schools have moved forward--Lynbrook installed a new scoreboard and public address system. But Monta Vista had stadium seating issues as well as scheduling problems when it came down to moving two of its five night games to daylight hours. One of the issues was the big game against Los Gatos--so a compromise was formulated, and Monta Vista will have to play just one of its games during the day.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
FUHSD toyed with moving two of Monta Vista's night games to daytime hours.
Monta Vista Principal Betty Pow said the school has had strong attendance for the night games, and the proceeds at the gate have supported their program tremendously.
"It's a good opportunity for folks to do things in the evening," Pow said. "But you won't know until you've tried it to see what the impact will be."
Vice Mayor Richard Lowenthal said the important thing for him is to have the games outside of normal workday hours. He thinks the night games are important because it is a way for the parents to get together.
"Cupertino lacks things to do, especially in the evenings," Lowenthal said. "We don't have good gathering places or a nice little downtown like Los Gatos or Los Altos, so we need every chance we can to get together."
Lowenthal said trying something new is viable to see what happens, and Hawkes reiterated feelings on the subject.
"We're not interested in destroying any traditions at any school, especially Monta Vista, or trying to create a situation where schools lose money," Hawkes said. "We're simply interested in schools gathering some kind of data as to what works in the football program and what might provide more of a well-rounded interest in the community."
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
