Nobody likes to wear a mask.

Nobody can really force you to do it.

Masks can feel uncomfortable. They can be awkward. They can fog up your glasses. I know the latter from personal experience.

They can be a real nuisance.

Wear one anyway.

Masks can help us maintain at least a semblance of normalcy in what has been an extremely abnormal year. They can speed up the process of getting to the point we all want to reach: a return to complete normalcy.

High school athletes have been affected by this pandemic as much as anybody.

Games being canceled. Practices being delayed. Athletes sitting out. Volleyball players sitting in hallways. Next to nobody in the bleachers watching them play. Entire seasons being canceled.

It's been tough.

Coaches have been asked to wear masks on the sidelines or on the bench. Now players are being asked to do the same.

Basketball teams and wrestlers are practicing with masks on.

Why are they doing it?

Because it beats the alternative of no practices, no games ... no season.

We can draw that parallel in any walk of life.

Wearing a mask enables me to interview somebody face-to-face ... well, mask-to-mask. My mask protects the other person; the other person's mask protects me.

You can carry this virus and not even realize it. You may not feel sick. That doesn't mean you can't inadvertently cause someone else to become ill.

Nobody wants to do that.

We can no longer underestimate the danger of this disease. Haven't we done enough of that already?

We can no longer assume we as individuals aren't going to get it — or deliver it to another human being.

Yes, the vaccine is coming. Once it gets to us, it still will take a while for this world to rid itself of this pandemic.

Wearing a mask is not 100% proof positive that individuals will not get the coranavirus.

It does reduce the chances.

That should be reason enough.

COVID-19 is our opponent. With any opponent, it's common sense to do whatever you can to increase your odds of winning.

Masks do that.

We're all on the same team here. Be a good teammate.

Wear your mask.

You may be keeping another person healthy by doing so.

That makes wearing it worth it.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle.