The Saturday afternoon football game is a diluted version of high school football, a pitiful excuse for the mystical glory of those Friday nights under the lights when towns congregate, cheers rumble up into the sky and electricity crackles through the air.
But Westfield settles for the Saturday afternoon games. Always has. No lights at Gary Kehler Stadium, no Friday-night home games, no indescribable Friday-night feeling. Away games are better.
As a student, I have long since accepted the absence of lights as a characteristic of WHS sports, unfortunate but immutable.
Then the town proposed sticking lights behind EIS. The Edison Fields Project, a contentious and ambitious solution to Westfield’s desperate need for athletic fields, is nearing an uncertain vote. The BOE will vote in the coming weeks. The decision is a toss-up. Neither side is confident.
But through it all, one question persists: If Westfield can erect towering stadium lights at Edison, why can’t it do so at Kehler?
There is no substantial difference between the two situations. The proposed lights at Edison, just like possible lights at Kehler, would exist in close proximity to homes. Why, then, can the town impose lights on families who border Edison but not on those who live adjacent to Kehler?
Put stadium lights on the stadium.
As a de facto football beat reporter for Hi’s Eye Sports this season, I’ve been at six of eight football games. Four were away games. Watchung Hills, Elizabeth, Somerville, Ridge. The atmosphere exceeded the home games by a tremendous margin, the difference between a shriveled McDonald’s chicken sandwich and its delectable Chick-Fil-A counterpart.
Lights at Kehler would also afford the athletic programs more versatility in scheduling games. As the months drag on, and winter’s inky embrace blots out the sunlight, teams struggle for field time. County and state tournament games are pushed to 2 p.m. to accommodate for the absence of lights, forcing soccer and field hockey players to miss school and causing games of great magnitude to be played before bare stands.
Last year, the girls soccer team kicked off its Group 4 state semifinal match at 2 p.m. at Kehler on a school day. It was one of the biggest games Westfield has played in recent years—in any sport. But the first half ticked by as WHS students languished in math class, idly twirling their pencils. Lights would fix that.
Kehler needs lights for two reasons. One, to extend field availability in the fall and winter months, accommodating county and state tournament schedules by allowing soccer and field hockey games to stretch an hour or so past twilight. Two, to illuminate 4-6 home football games per year.
That’s it.
Football games that start at 7 p.m. end no later than 9:30. The lights would cease shining by 10 p.m., peace restored with the blanket of darkness. On all other days, the lights would shut off far earlier, or never turn on.
Surrounding residents need not suffer. All the town has to do is institute reasonable limits on how often the lights are used past 6:30 p.m.—20 nights per year, say. Compromise seems a foreign concept these days, but surely all of Westfield’s brilliant minds can agree on a plan that adds stadium lights but limits the amount of times per year they can be used.
The Edison Fields Project is completely detached from any attempt to put lights at Kehler. But if the controversial Edison project gains BOE approval, lights will beam on one side of Rahway Avenue, while, on the other side, the stadium stands dark and barren.
2 comments
This is complete bologna! Saturday football games have been fine. I went to them before my son played, and I still attend them after he has finished out his college career and further. There is no need to disrupt a residential neighborhood for such a frivolous sentiment. Maybe parents should be more concerned about what is going on in the classrooms. Sports is a minor tidbit in the scope of a high school career. We need to keep our priorities in order!
I wholeheartedly agree with the writer, Michael Liebermann. I’ve lived in Westfield since 1980, and have seen some great football teams. Unfortunately, I’ve also seen our home crowd dwindle as the years have gone on. One way to rectify this would be to install lights at Kehler Stadium… or even use portable lights for a few select “rivalry games”. Modern stadium lights don’t cast a glare over large surface areas like they used to. New lights are capable of being aimed and focused mostly on the field. The neighborhood impact would be minimal. (I live on a street bordering Kehler)
As a supporter of Westfield athletics, and a proud citizen of the town, I think adding lights would be a huge upgrade to our athletic programs, and the overall wellness of our town. Nothing brings the community together like Friday night lights. Our kids, and our successful sports programs deserve to feel the pride that comes along with playing in front of large crowds, and the excitement of performing under the lights. Especially in terms of the student body, you have a captive audience on Friday nights. Pep rally/tailgate/bonfire after school leads right into an early arrival to fill the home stands. Instead, the current schedule competes with families weekend plans in late summer and early fall.
Our athletic events, especially football, used to be a source of pride in this town, and well supported. I attend most football games, and it’s embarrassing to hear opposing fans make comments on how underwhelming the home crowd is at games. It’s a common theme in the Westfield Avenue stands. Once again, what was once a pillar of Westfield life, has slipped to a point where other towns have leapfrogged us. Stadium lights are needed at Kehler to restore a great Westfield tradition of a raucous home field advantage.