Normal.
Remember what normal was like when it came to sports, especially football? Remember high school games on late summer and autumn Friday nights? College ball on Saturday? Pros on Sunday and Monday night?
We’ve missed normal in all things these past five months. We deeply crave its return. We may even desperately need it to hold tight to what’s left of our sanity, even if normal has been nowhere to be found since mid-March, at least not the normal of old.
Yet there was something somewhat approaching normal on Friday night. There was high school football in Tennessee, even if you had to have your temperature taken to watch it in person. And supposedly keep your six feet of distance from all but family members. And wear a mask. ALWAYS wear a mask.
Still, players played and pads popped. Whistles blew. Touchdowns were scored. Potential touchdowns were stopped. All of which undoubtedly brought a much welcomed sense of normalcy to many of our lives.