Sunday Night Lights

SUNDAY NIGHT LIGHTS was organized in 2010 after Lindbergh student Jake Franzel was diagnosed with osteosarcoma,a rare form of bone cancer. Our community - students, friends, family and teachers - pulled together for Jake and his family. Jake's dream was to be part of the varsity football team and play "under the lights." After he was told that it would never happen, Sunday Night Lights was born - to give kids like Jake a chance to experience their dream! The support was overwhelming. Jake's legacy lives on in Sunday Night Lights in the hope that these courageous kids and their families will be buoyed by the same kind of community love and support that lifted Jake and his family. Sunday Night Lights is a free night of fun and football for children battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. We recreate a Friday night high school football game under the stadium lights on Sunday night -
featuring our special guests and their siblings as players, band members, cheerleaders and pom pom girls. They are each paired with a special high school buddy and are then escorted through the event, starting with a community carnival of games and fun. After a pre-game meal they enter the stadium to the cheers of a capacity crowd and are individually introduced onto the field to participate in the activity of their choice. We take care to ensure activities are low impact and safe for all involved. This is a night we hope they will never
forget, and for some a dream come true, experiencing the sights, smells and sounds of a high school football night! All of this, while gently reminding these children and families they are not alone -- they are supported by a community that cares!