View from the cheap seats

A weekly perspective on sports

Casey Krautkramer Reporter The Record-Review

I have a vivid high school sports memory from the world dealing with the COVID-19 virus in 2020.

It was March 12 and only a certain number of fans were allowed to attend Stratford High School’s varsity boys basketball team’s WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal against Auburndale at Wausau West High School.

Stratford’s boys basketball team was undefeated and looking to advance to the state championship for the first time in school history. The only thing that could’ve gotten in the Tigers’ way was a pesky virus that quickly spread throughout the world.

I ate supper at Culver’s on Bridge Street in Wausau, which was near Wausau West High School. I recall seeing Rick Parks, Marathon schools superintendent, at the Culver’s restaurant. Parks told me he’d just been sick for many days with the flu. He told me he was the sickest he’d ever been in his entire life.

In a normal boys basketball season, it would’ve been difficult for me to find a parking spot at Wausau West High School for a big sectional playoff game pitting two Marawood Conference schools, Stratford against Auburndale, that are a mere 17 miles apart from each other.

It was a very strange feeling for me to drive into the Wausau West parking lot, only half an hour before the big game started, and to have my pick of whichever parking spot I wanted. I saw a spattering of Stratford High School students, including Oscar Telschow, walking from the parking lot to the main entrance of the Wausau West Fieldhouse, but it was otherwise quiet. It certainly didn’t feel like a huge sectional playoff game, with major implications on the line, was happening on this particular day.

I entered the Wausau West Fieldhouse and could’t hear any screaming fans cheering for their teams. There were no high school pep bands to help get the players, coaches and fans excited for the big game. Instead, it felt more like I was attending a holiday tournament when high school students are on holiday break between Christmas and New Year’s.

My strategy was to take as many action pictures as I could of Stratford’s basketball players against Auburndale, just in case the WIAA halted the season because of COVID-19. It was a good thing I took lots of pictures, because after Stratford’s 66-50 win against Auburndale, the very next morning its players and coaches found out their season was over.

That next day, on a Friday, I remember seeing Stratford boys basketball star player Ben Barten with his girlfriend and mother eating at Arby’s restaurant in Marshfield. Ben had a look of disbelief on his face, after discovering his Stratford boys basketball season had just ended because of a virus.