The 14th annual Sunday Night Lights event for children and individuals battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses was held by the Lindbergh Schools community on Oct. 8. The event, hosted at the LHS athletic field, 5000 Lindbergh Blvd., is designed to give the participants – called heroes – a chance to experience and take part in a high school football game under the lights.

“You’ve got the marching band, you’ve got the cheerleaders and the pom pom girls and the concession stand at full speed with hot dogs,” Lori Krueger, president of Sunday Night Lights, said. “The only difference is the players on the field that night and the honorees are the heroes who are the patients.”

This year there were 42 heroes who participated, ranging in age from 1 to 28 years old. Each hero was paired up with a high school buddy from the LHS football team, cheer squad, dance team or marching band. The buddy groups were made depending on what the hero wanted to do at the game, so if a hero wanted to play football, they would be paired with a football player.

“The magic of Sunday Night Lights really happens when you put these high schoolers together with these young heroes, these young patients or their siblings,” Krueger said. “They can communicate with these kids better than any adult can just in having a good time with them, making them feel special.”

The buddies and heroes spent the day together, first attending a carnival filled with games and face painting. Each booth at the carnival was hosted by LHS clubs and organizations, community youth groups, and Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops.

“There were, I think, 28 different clubs and organizations from the district – from the high school, from elementary schools and from the community – that were represented this year, just at the carnival alone,” Krueger said. “That’s pretty cool to see.”

The pairs then ate dinner together, per LHS football tradition, before taking the field by running through a giant, inflatable LHS football helmet. As each hero entered the field, the jam-packed crowd of roughly 2,000 erupted into applause.

“The crowd is there cheering them on, and showing support for them. That’s the main thing, it’s their time to shine and … their time to be the heroes on the field. We want to give them this event to let them know that we’re all behind them,” Krueger said.

The flag football game then began. It was announced by Gary Ujka, “the voice of Lindbergh football,” making the game feel even more like a typical Friday night game. Players were split into “green” and “gold” teams, with the younger players playing the first 15 minute half, and the older players playing the second. There was no score recorded, though there were many touchdowns scored on each side.

While the game was being played, the other heroes cheered and danced with the cheerleaders, dance team and marching band.

The whole event was hosted by Grant Krueger, one of Lori’s sons, and Tori King. The duo are both Lindbergh High School alumni – graduating in 2014 and 2007, respectively – and both played football during their four years. Both Krueger and King have hosted every Sunday Night Lights – apart from one year when they both had conflicts – since its creation in 2010.

The original event was started in honor of Jake Franzel, a student and football player at Lindbergh, after he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.

“Jake was diagnosed in 2010 after his freshman football season. He just had a sore shoulder. As any healthy freshman in high school, they didn’t think much about a sore shoulder, you know, because he was quite active as an athlete and tuba player. So when the diagnosis of osteosarcoma came, it was quite a blow, of course, to his family and himself,” Krueger said. “Suddenly you find yourself in that situation that nobody ever dreamed they would be in.”

The football team wanted to do something for Jake – and others in his same position – to show their support, and thus Sunday Night Lights was born. The idea behind the football game stems from Jake’s childhood dream of wanting to play a Friday night football game “under the lights.”

Jake sadly passed away in January 2012, though his legacy forever lives on through Sunday Night Lights.

“I think the event is special because it pulls the community together for no other reason than to bring smiles and show love and help make some good memories for this community of patients and their families,” Krueger said. “It gives all of our area volunteers and community and students an opportunity to help and affect someone else’s life in a positive way.”