friday night lights essay

Friday Night Lights

Buzz bissinger, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

H. G. (“Buzz”) Bissinger’s Friday Nights Lights is an examination of football in one especially football-mad part of the country: the small town of Odessa, in West Texas. Football is the most popular sport in the region, and high-school football games dominate the cultures of the region’s communities. Some games draw 15,000-20,000 fans—large percentages of the population. The Permian stadium is a sea of black during games. Bissinger explores the influence of football in Odessa…

Race and Racial Divisions

Bissinger explores the racial divides that he finds during his investigation of football in the region. Texas, like many states in the South, has a checkered history since Brown vs. Board of Education , in the mid-50’s, the Supreme Court case which mandated the desegregation of public schools. Originally, there were Odessa and Ector high schools in Ector County, where Odessa is located. Odessa High was largely white, and filled mostly with members of the…

Wealth, Poverty, and the Boom-Bust Cycle

Odessa is an oil town. Its wealth derives from oil-drilling in the region, and from industries related to it: pipe-building, construction, distribution. The oil industry, despite its pro-American rhetoric and close ties to the politics of the Texas Republican party, is, as Bissinger points out, highly dependent on other countries in the late-1980s. OPEC—the cartel of Middle Eastern oil-supplying countries—sets prices, for the most part, and because their supply is so much more significant than…

The Permian Panthers are, of course, the football team for Permian High School—although, in Bissinger’s account, it’s clear that football is the priority for many Texas schools rather than a comprehensive high-school educational program. Bissinger notes that SAT scores and other indicators of performance are especially low in Odessa and West Texas, although the entire state lags behind many others in the country, as far as the strength of its high schools. Bissinger argues that…

Winning, Losing, and a Purpose in Life

Bissinger follows the Panthers through a difficult season. At first, it appears that the talented Permian team will underperform, especially after Permian loses to its rival Midland Lee. But Permian rights the ship and ends up in a three-way tie for a berth in the district playoffs. Coach Gaines participates in a coin flip that sends the Panthers and Midland Lee to the playoffs, and leaves the Midland High team out. The Panthers make it…

Illuminating the Field: ‘Friday Night Lights’ and its Impact Book Review

This essay about “Friday Night Lights” by H.G. Bissinger explores the book’s exploration of high school football in Odessa, Texas, and its broader commentary on American society. Highlighting themes of community, identity, and the pressures of the American Dream, the essay emphasizes the work’s significance beyond just a sports narrative. It discusses how the book examines economic disparities, racial tensions, and the complexities of youth and community expectations through the stories of players and coaches. Additionally, the essay touches on the impact of “Friday Night Lights” on American culture, including its adaptations into film and television, and its role in sparking discussions about the values reflected in the glorification of high school sports. The essay concludes by recognizing the book’s lasting relevance in offering insights into the role of sports in shaping personal and communal identities.

How it works

“Friday Night Lights,” an influential opus penned by H.G. Bissinger, plunges into the essence of American secondary school football, encapsulating the quintessence of provincial existence in Odessa, Texas. This captivating narrative transcends the confines of athletic literature, delving into themes of communalism, selfhood, and the American ideal. Through the prism of the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football squad, Bissinger offers a poignant exploration of the societal exigencies, victories, and hurdles that delineate Odessa and akin locales nationwide.

At its nucleus, “Friday Night Lights” transcends its role as a mere football chronicle; it morphs into a cultural probe that illuminates the fervor and solidarity with which provincial America clings to interscholastic athletics as a bastion of pride and cohesion.

The town’s quasi-legendary ardor for the game and its athletes unveils deeper narratives concerning economic disparity, racial strife, and the transient nature of youth and renown. Bissinger’s narrative serves as a meticulous journal of a season, yet it also functions as a microcosm of American society in the waning decades of the 20th century, mirroring overarching motifs of optimism, despair, and the ceaseless pursuit of achievement.

One of the tome’s most notable triumphs lies in its capacity to humanize the athletes, mentors, and denizens of the community, delineating their narratives with compassion and profundity. The reader is afforded an intimate glimpse into the aspirations and disillusionments of personalities such as Boobie Miles, an endowed athlete whose future is cast into uncertainty by injury, and Coach Gary Gaines, whose stewardship is perpetually under scrutiny beneath the harsh glare of Friday night. Through these portrayals, Bissinger captures the peaks and valleys of adolescence, the burden of expectation, and the intricate interplay of communal encouragement and coercion.

Moreover, “Friday Night Lights” catalyzes a discourse regarding the function of sports in academia and society. It prods readers to ponder the distribution of resources, the scholastic concessions made for athletic eminence, and the societal principles mirrored in the deification of secondary school football. The tome’s critical and commercial triumph birthed a cinematic adaptation and a televised series, amplifying its impact and solidifying its position in American culture. These adaptations have further magnified the tome’s motifs, rendering its message accessible to a broader audience and stimulating conversations about the import of sports in shaping individual and collective identities.

In summation, “Friday Night Lights” endures as a seminal exploration of the potency of sports to amalgamate and segregate, to elevate and engulf. Bissinger’s immersive reportage and vibrant narrative offer a nuanced viewpoint on the American saga, spotlighting the splendor and severity of the quest for distinction. The tome serves not only as a testament to the talent and resolve of the young men who don the Panthers’ jersey but also as a contemplation on the societal influences that mold their odyssey. It persists as a crucial and insightful critique on the intersections of athletics, culture, and community, resonating with readers and spectators decades after its inception.

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Reflecting On Football And Addiction As 'Friday Night Lights' Turns 25

Friday Night Lights

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Twenty-seven years ago, journalist Buzz Bissinger decided that he wanted to write about the big-time stakes of small-town high school football — he just needed to find the right town. At the suggestion of a college recruiter, he visited Odessa, a west Texas town with a high school football stadium capable of seating 19,000 — and a population of approximately 90,000.

"Odessa is just kind of a dusty, gritty place," Bissinger tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies. "And I see that stadium ... and it's like a rocket ship on the desert."

In 1988, he moved his family to Odessa so he could spend a year following the Odessa Permian Panthers, their families and their fans. The resulting book, Friday Night Lights, sold 2 million copies, and inspired a movie and a TV show.

Now, in a 25th anniversary reissue Friday Night Lights, Bissinger checks in on the players from Odessa's 1988 team to find out how they fared after their playing days were over.

"For a lot of kids, life peaks at 18 in Odessa, it just does. You're playing in front of 19,000 people, you're the god of the town, you're a rock star, but you don't spend the rest of your life being that kind of star," he says.

Bissinger discusses his own struggles following the success of Friday Night Lights , as well as his addiction to buying leather clothing and his recent Vanity Fair cover story on Caitlyn Jenner.

Interview Highlights

Buzz Bissinger is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair. Dom Savini hide caption

Buzz Bissinger is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair.

On the role of football in Odessa, Texas

When they would travel to the school, to the stadium there was a caravan of police cars, you would've thought it was the president, basically. ... When they flew to certain away games, particularly — Texas is a big state — chartered jet. I'm talking chartered jet. ... I think the year I was there it cost about $60,000 ... paid for [by] boosters and I think the school kicked in some money. More money was spent on getting rushed game tapes — so they would get them that Saturday overnight — than was spent on books and supplies for the English Department. ...

I heard that they preempted a national league baseball playoff game because the [Odessa] Permian [vs.] Midland Lee game was put on television, and on and on it went.

On the controversy of the book in Odessa and some of the town feeling deceived by him

I was there for a reason. I was first and foremost a journalist. They knew I was a journalist. ... Did they trust me? Of course. Did [I] want them to trust me? Of course. But when I heard the n-word used repeatedly, when I heard the n-word used to describe a tragic black running back ... who is now in prison, when I heard those things, what am I going to do? Not put it in? Issue a Miranda warning saying, "Don't say that anymore! Don't go there!" ...

More On 'Friday Night Lights'

Kyle Chandler: Playing A Coach On 'Friday Night'

Behind The Scenes Of 'Friday Night Lights'

Connie Britton, Lighting Up Friday Nights

There's total truth in the book and I've made my peace with Odessa. Frankly, I don't think they've made their peace with me. I'm going down there for the 25th anniversary edition and Odessa College and the university there said, "No, no, he can't speak there, it's still too controversial." I will not take back a single word of it. ... There's a lot of love in this book. There's a lot of love for the scrappiness of Odessa and there's a lot of love for those kids, the sacrifice, the burden, the pressure, and there's a lot of love for those games. I actually think it's a very even-handed portrait.

On the difficulties high school football stars sometimes face once their playing days are over

For a lot of these players [they have] sort of this glazed look in their eye saying, "What happened? What happened to the crowds? What happened to the attention?" Because no one is more lonely and isolated than a former player who comes back to the locker room. There's a pat on the back and the coach says, "Hey, it's great to see you, man," but then no one cares, nobody cares. They get shell-shocked.

On former running back Boobie Miles, who is now in prison

Boobie was basically treated as a football animal. He was pushed through school without any demands. He basically had a tutor who gave him the answer to all the questions. There was no attempt to educate him at all. I never saw him play because in a preseason scrimmage, in a silly play that was meaningless, his cleat got caught in the turf, he blew out his knee. ...

Boobie lived for football. He was told to live for football. His uncle who took care of him, he lived for football. That was his only persona in school and when he lost that I saw him dissolve. I saw him fall apart. I saw every dream he had fall to pieces and I saw that town, and I will never take this back, I saw that town turn totally against him after loving him and extolling him when they found another running back who was good or maybe better named Chris Comer and that's when the n-word came out.

"A big, dumb ol' n-[word]" — and that was a coach, that was an assistant coach who is a nice guy ... and I heard boosters laughing one day on the sidelines and sort of comparing Boobie to a horse. "What do you do when a horse is pulled up lame? You shoot 'em. You shoot 'em."

I saw this over and over and I've kept in touch with Boobie since the book in 1990 — for 25 years and I don't think he's ever, ever, ever recovered. The last time I saw him, it's in the new afterword, the last time I saw him [he] was wearing a white prison uniform. I think collectively, because of the way we view sports and the way we view African-Americans, we all bear responsibility.

On feeling like a "one-hit wonder" with Friday Night Lights

It reached a point that I hated hearing about Friday Night Lights. I heard about it all the time. I still hear about it all the time. People ask me, "What did you think about the television show?" I say, "I don't watch it." They say, "Why don't you watch it? It was inspired by your book!'

Because I didn't want to hear about it anymore, because when the book came out, writing the book was delicious, what I miss the most is that magic moment of being young and innocent and my kids are young and here you are, you know it's a great story. I miss that intensity of connection.

But the book came out, it was a big best-seller, it came out of nowhere, the reviews were incredible, it kept selling and kept selling and kept selling, then the movie comes out, and it sells more and more and more, about 2 million copies, but I've written other books! ...

I wrote a book about Philadelphia that I feel was my best book, A Prayer for the City . Friday Night Lights — 2 million copies, A Prayer for the City — about 42,000 copies. It was hard, it was hard, because I felt like a one-hit wonder. I felt like sort of the nonfiction equivalent of the high school quarterback. All these cheers, all these accolades. ... It got to me, it gnawed at me and that feeling increased where I felt an intense feeling of failure.

On his shopping addiction

It's a shopping addiction but it's a sexual addiction. ... It was leather. I have a leather fetish, which is fine, but my shopping became compulsive. I had to get packages. It's much better, but it's still there. Three, four packages a day. I bought a lot of women's clothing, and you know what? I like women's clothing. I've cross-dressed. I like cross-dressing. My wife knows it, my kids know about it. ...

I bought a lot of boots. I bought stiletto boots. I bought leather jackets. I had over 100 leather jackets, and probably close to 100 pairs of leather pants. I mean, in your lifetime you probably can't wear all that stuff. I spent over $500,000.

On how the leather addiction is a sex addiction

Leather has become kind of a sexual icon to me. The reason why? I became obsessed with it at a very young age. I had a difficult relationship with my mother, who always wore leather gloves. There was a teacher in kindergarten who wore leather gloves and thought I was stupid, so I fixated on that. Why? I don't know. But I fixated and I tried to repress it. And I did not wear a stitch of leather until I was 40 years old. I was very good at repressing things. And then I began when I was 40 and in my 50s it became completely out of control. It was a complicated sexual addiction — that was the diagnosis when I went into rehab ... and also I was going through an all-purpose breakdown. I was playing around ... with S&M by myself, wearing paraphernalia that could be very dangerous, could've killed me, and I didn't really care. I didn't really care.

On how his gender identity relates to Cait lyn Jenner, whom he profiled in Vanity Fair

I think I do have some gender confusion, but actually, in doing the Vanity Fair piece on Caitlyn Jenner I learned a lot about transgender men and women and I learned about various psycho-sexual conditions, because I remember asking Caitlyn Jenner, "Do you get a sexual charge from wearing women's clothing?" And [Jenner] said, "No, not at all. For me I was born a woman, I happen to be in a man's body, so to speak, but I was born Caitlyn Jenner."

So what [Jenner] is going through is much, much deeper. For me it is related to a kind of sexual turn-on. ... Do I have gender confusion? Definitely. Am I more open about this because I feel that we should gender-bend? I don't know. Men have women characteristics, women have men characteristics, I hate going to clothing stores and there's a men's section and women's section because you become stigmatized. I mean who the hell cares? ... It's very hard to be different in this country, extremely hard.

Is the Television Series, Friday Night Lights Literary? Explicatory Essay

The high school football drama, Friday Night Lights , is a great piece of literary work. This is a great television drama, which reflects different literary characteristics, just like other literary works, such as poems, novels, short stories, paintings, plays, and others (Heffernan 1).

While there are non-literary works, they tend to be formal with clear structures and form, precise function, and style. This essay focuses on the use of characters, plot or episodes, and storyline to show that Friday Night Lights is literary.

Friday Night Lights has characters that meet qualities of other characters in works of literature. Characters are people in the narrative or the television series. The television series has round characters, who appear to be complex and experience several development and surprise audience. Characters vary from one episode to the next one.

However, the focus remains on the main character, the Panthers’ football coach Eric Taylor (Berg 1). The director creates a coach who must struggle to balance his roles as a father, his status as a coach for a demand fans, and his own ambitions. Another character is Tami Taylor, the coach’s wife. She becomes a principal at Dillon High School from a counselor.

In addition, Julie Taylor, the teenage daughter of the coach is also a central character in the series. However, it is only Tami and the coach who appear in all episodes of show. Tension sets in the family as Tami gets pregnant and gives birth to another baby. Julie rebels against her parents.

Players are also important characters in the television drama. Football players also change as the plot develops. For instance, Jason Street is the star quarterback who sustains a serious injury that would eventually get him out of the game and make him handicapped. Jason must struggle in order to adjust to his new life. Lyla Garrity also changes from a cheerleader to a youth leader at the church.

The television series depicts characters who struggle and develop to pick up new roles or responsibilities in their lives. Generally, the show depicts various characters of a small town, Dillon who must deal with several challenges in the contemporary American society associated with football. These characters must develop to handle family issues, life lessons, child issues, abortion, alcoholism, football and school funding, and poor economic progress and opportunities.

Friday Night Lights has five seasons, which present the plot of the drama. The plot of the drama is engaging to viewers. A plot presents incidents of the drama to viewers. It is the structure of the drama. Every episode in the drama has a ‘whole’ element of a plot i.e., beginning, middle, and end.

The beginning sets the pace for the rest of the drama. For instance, season one focuses on two crucial events, which are the rise of Coach Taylor to the position of the head coach and the injury of Street. These are events, which affect and lead the first season to its end. They show cause-and-effect chain in the drama.

This television series has complete plots to reflect unity of actions. In other words, all episodes structurally self-supporting in which all incidents are bound together through internal action and necessity, which lead to next incidents. However, this television series presents an episodic plot in which episodes succeed one another.

It is the events of the play, which tight the play together because they happen to the same characters, who appear in all episodes of the drama. For instance, in episode one, we have Coach Taylor who will take the team throughout the last episode four. One must recognize that events change in every episode. Nevertheless, they happen to the same coach and other characters who appear in all episodes. This brings element of unity in Friday Night Lights .

Finally, the plot of the television drama reflects elements of a certain magnitude in terms of length, intensity, complexity, and universal significance. Episodes or seasons in this television are not too brief. The director strived to include several themes in organic unity to enhance the richness and artistic value.

For example, in season four, the Coach struggles with undesirable players and dilapidated ground. Vince Howard reflects youth challenges in society and justice while a character like Matt Saracen struggles to find a balance in his life. The episode also reflects grief and loss as Matt struggles to come to terms with the death of his father in Iraq.

This episode also shows how Tim Riggins has developed to a reliable and focused character from a hopeless alcoholic. At the same time, the play has universal significant and meaning to many viewers. Hence, the drama is able to capture and hold emotions of viewers.

The storyline of Friday Night Lights reflects that the work is literary. The director uses a story arc to present the storyline. A story arc applies in a running storyline with episodic plots. It was common in television series, films, or other comic books. The story director explores story details in several episodes and seasons. It is a common method, which drives drama in a story.

The storyline is able to attract several viewers and develop fans who follow and discuss different episodes. The development of the storyline raises questions among viewers. For instance, in season two, viewers may wonder whether Coach Taylor would ever return to Dillon after taking a new role as an assistant coach TMU. At the end of the episode, viewers will find a solution to their question as the coach goes back to Dillon.

As the storyline develops, viewers also raise questions whether several economic, social, racial, and political challenges that afflict Dillon would end. Viewers also appreciate the importance of football Dillon because it is able to hold the community together. Still, curious viewers would understand how football or sports could highlight social and economic challenges in American societies where football is core.

The essay has used characters, plot, and storyline to illustrate that Friday Night Lights is a television series that meets all qualities of a literary work. The process of writing a literary drama is intense, intricate, intuitive, and intimate and sometimes emotional, yet it requires a balance between all these agents of literary styles. The story uses round characters who develop and change as events in the drama unfold.

Viewers identify with these characters as they confront and struggle to overcome their daily challenges, desires, and anxieties to change and win. The plot, through episodes and seasons, artistically puts events of the story together for viewers while the storyline maintain coherence of all episodes that make Friday Night Lights .

Works Cited

Berg, Peter, dir. Friday Night Lights . 2006. Film.

Heffernan, Virginia. Friday Night Lights: On the Field and Off, Losing Isn’t an Option . 2006. Web.

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Essay: Friday Night Lights

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The first complaint was from a parent of a sixth grader at Odom Academy, in Beaumont, Texas, due to the language and racism. This caused Beaumont School District librarians to question whether or not they should carry Friday Night Lights. With this complaint from a single parent, almost two decades after the book was published, schools in the surrounding areas started to question whether or not this book should be in their library for children to read.

The complaints made are varied, in the reasoning on why young kids should not read this book, however, in all of the complaints, they all had three main points: offensive language, sexual content, and racism. Many feel as if, “Kids today often grow up too fast and are exposed to things their young minds can’t handle. It’s unfortunate, but it certainly shouldn’t happen in a public school classroom.” (Beaumont Enterprise). However some feel different. For instance, Timglase responded to the banning by saying,

“Yes, it does contain some profanity and references to sex and racism. How about that? Three things that are present in life itself. It doesn’t help to shield students from these realities. It helps to educate them so they can deal with life’s challenges. In fact, students in some classes at West Brook study this book without any apparent problems.”

These complaints caused Beaumont School District to question whether they should carry Friday Night Lights in their library. These also caused the Texas Prison to ban Friday Night Lights.

A main complaint made was the explicit language throughout the book. On the second page of the book, “[the game] was against Midland Lee – Permian’s arch rivals – the rebels, those no-good son of a bitch bastard rebels…” Then, during the first scrimmage, a player from the opposing team tells the main character, star running back Boobie Miles, “You ain’t nothin’ but a pussy, a Goddamn pussy! … Com’on, Boobie, you tough mother fucker, com’on, let’s see how tough you really are!” Parents of youth had complained about this vulgar language. All throughout the book these teenageres cuss left and right, and parents do not want their children reading this. Especially with the harsh name calling. “Fuck you… you motherfucking bitch.” (Bissinger 334).

Another reason for the banning, is constant prejudice. Prejudice is, in this case, intolerance of or dislike for people of a specific race, religion, etc. This is shown throughout the book. For instance, on page twenty-four, the football players feel as if they are superior to everyone else in the school because they play football. They also believe that football is more important than their school work. Boobie says that football is the only way he can get into college, so, “… he couldn’t be bothered with classes.” (Bissinger 1)

Racism is a huge part of this banning. All throughout the book, Caucasians felt superior to the African-American and Hispanic populations. African-Americans and Mexicans, races of a lower standard at this time, lived on the opposite side of town, referred to as “nxxxxx town”. Where all the Caucasians lived on the other, nicer, side of town. On page three, Boobie, a teenage African-American, “Felt good as he made his way out of the Southside part of town, the place where the low-income blacks and Mexicans lived, and crossed the railroad tracks as he headed for Permain over on the northeast side of town, the fancy side of town, the white side of town.” (Bissinger 3). Throughout the whole book, Caucasians were separated from African-Americans. Throughout the book, the word “nxxxxx” was used constantly in a harsh contex. Boobie was often referred to as a, “‘Big ol’ dumb nxxxxx.’” (Bssinger 67). This rural town, in southern Texas, did not acknowledge segregation until they had to. Therefore, Caucasians did not have to even associate with the other minorities for a long time.

Contant stereotype, a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing, is all throughout the book. “… before thousands of fans who had once anointed him the chosen son but now mostly thought of him as just another nxxxxx.” (Bissinger 1). The idea of one having to fit a certain standard of what they are thought of is constantly shown. The football players are stereotyped throughout the book. “He fit every stereotype of a dumb jock, all of which went to show how meaningless stereotypes should be,” (Bissinger 127). Females, the pepettes mainly, were also stereotyped in numerous occasions. Urban Ministry says, the pepettes spent as much as one hundred dollars on posters for their player; they also had to bring their player “a sweet” before every game.

The final reason for the banning is the constant sexual references. After one football practice, in the locker room, the players were comparing their pepettes sexually. Urban Ministry later tells that every pepette fully devotes themselves to their player. The football players could fully use their pepettes, along with any other girl in the school, in any way they wanted.

Friday Night Lights is only banned in two places, both happen to be in texas. “… while prisoners are not allowed to read the Texas football classic Friday Night Lights because of a single ‘nxxxxx’ reference, any one of them can request a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.” (John Bonazzo). This book is also banned in Beaumont School District due to one complaint made by a mom of a sixth grader. The complaint said, “The book is not appropriate for that age.” (Beaumont Enterprise).

Friday Night Lights, certainly has upset some feelings. The intention of the story was to tell about a high school football team in southern, rural, Texas. In reality, the book’s explicit language, mature sexual references, and constant racism overpowered the author’s desired message.

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Friday Night Lights

69 pages • 2 hours read

Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Preface-Chapter 1

Chapters 2-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapter 16 and Epilogue

Key Figures

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Football: Opportunity or Exploitation?

In Odessa, playing high school football was many Black students’ best chance to earn the respect of their peers and teachers and potentially gain post-secondary opportunities such as football scholarships. Bissinger’s book is critical of this reality and questions how much their participation in football truly serves Black players compared to what they offered the school board, coaches, and town as a whole. By discussing Odessa’s history of explicitly racist policies and attitudes, including segregation, the author provides the reader with the necessary context to understand the extent of anti-Black racism in the town. Bissinger grapples with the fact that football seemed to be the one activity where Black and white people in Odessa had any significant, positive interactions with each other. One white resident remarks, “We don’t have to deal with Blacks here […]. We don’t have to have any contact with them, except on the Permian football team. It’s the only place in Odessa where people interact at all with Blacks” (116).

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Jon weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the los angeles dodgers, baseball and life.

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• Brothers in Arms

Tyra’s college application essay on ‘Friday Night Lights’

By Jon Weisman

On February 13, 2013

In Entertainment , Life

“Two years ago, I was afraid of wanting anything. I figured wanting would lead to trying and trying would lead to failure. But now I find I can’t stop wanting. I want to fly somewhere on first class. I want to travel to Europe on a business trip. I want to get invited to the White House. I want to learn about the world. I want to surprise myself. I want to be important. I want to be the best person I can be. I want to define myself instead of having others define me. I want to win and have people be happy for me. I want to lose and get over it. I want to not be afraid of the unknown. I want to grow up and be generous and big hearted, the way people have been with me. I want an interesting and surprising life. It’s not that I think I’m going to get all these things, I just want the possibility of getting them. College represents possibility. The possibility that things are going to change. I can’t wait.”

Ceci n’est pas une bench

My favorite films of 2012, 15 comments.

Wow, 25 years after college and Tyra and I still have many of the same desires.

Yet another reminder of how great the show was but also what a disservice the writers did to Landry.

LOL. I had forgotten the Lance reference and had to look it up.

Jon Weisman

 Other than the killing, the writers did great by Landry.

Turned on to FNL by Jon.  Now watching season 4 with my wife, who loves it despite the football.

Remember the time when Landry killed the guy that raped Tyra and they dumped the body in the river?

That was awesome.

One of the best shows ever, along with Scrubs, Freaks and Geeks, and The Wonder Years.

“I want to be on a show that lasts two episodes!”

 Two more than “Wonder Woman.”

Jack Dawkins

Did Vin Scully kill that contract too?

Saturday morning, watching FA Cup, let me check in with Dodger Thoughts … YES!  (no pressure but thanks Jon!)

Haven’t really been a Laker fan since Magic, Kareem, and Worthy, but I am very saddened at passing of Dr. Buss.  True hero in both sports and life.

I am gong to pass this along to my daughter to help her step back and ponder a bit when compasing her own essay.

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1991-2013 Dodgers at home: 1,028-812 (.558695) When Jon attended: 338-267 (.558677)* When Jon didn’t: 695-554 (.556) * includes road games attended

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Note: I got so busy working for the Dodgers that in 2014, I stopped keeping track, much to my regret. 

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Friday Night Lights

By h. g. bissinger, friday night lights quotes and analysis.

“Odessa is the setting for this book, but it could be anyplace in this vast land where, on a Friday night, a set of spindly stadium lights rises to the heavens to so powerfully, and so briefly, ignite the darkness.” p. 16

Odessa represents countless small towns across America that treat their high school football teams with reverence. Despite economic woes and social hardships, the lights of a Friday night game ignite their hopes and dreams of a better future. The temporary excitement of the gridiron turns their boys into men; their personal problems are momentarily solved by a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“He responded without the slightest hesitation. 'A big ol’ dumb nigger.'” p. 49

This is a Permian assistant coach’s response to a question about what Boobie Miles would be without football. There is a certain animosity towards Boobie from the coaching staff: Boobie does not take instruction well. He operates on pure talent and instinct for the game. Boobie frequently goes off the plan set before the play. Still, this quote is endemic of racial views among whites in Odessa. To most whites in Odessa, Boobie is the necessary black athletic talent needed to challenge other desegregated schools. Booby is simply a commodity whose status would revert back to derogatory stereotypes once his talent is used up.

“They started chanting something….Some said it was 'Oreo! Oreo!'” p. 370

Racism in Texas football cuts both ways. Bissinger portrays the Carter fans and players as overtly racist and angry. Some fans scream “Oreo” at the black players and coaches on the Permian staff. The connotation alludes to derogatory remarks of race mixing at Permian. This invites the question: is the high school football game a symbol of long-simmering racial aggression?

“Some of the Pepettes spent $100 of their own money to make an individual sign, decorating it with twinkling lights…” p. 27

Many girls at Permian dream of becoming a Pepette. These are girls who exclusively devote themselves to the football players. Each Pepette is assigned to a specific player. They act as domestic servants of their appointed player by cooking them football themed deserts or making signs for them. If a girl is blessed with a keen intellect, they simply “dumb themselves down" to fit into Permian school culture.

“I’ve got no idea what I want to do. I’ve got no idea what school I want to go to. My SAT won’t be worth a shit. And no football school wants me.” p. 308

These are the words of Jerrod McDougal, but they represent the confusion of 95 percent of the boys after Permian football. Every year these heroes of Permian football turn into teenage boys again after their final season is over. One or two lucky ones get a shot at college football but the majority of them are cast aside as fond memories. In the end these boys become a product of decent football training and a mediocre education.

“Charlie Billingsley found out that life in college was a whole lot different …you were a whole lot more expendable in college…there was always a bunch of guys ready to replace you in a second.” p. 63

Like the few boys that were lucky to play college football after high school, Charlie Billingsley found that things were not as he had imagined. At a university like Texas A and M, the men were bigger, faster and stronger than him: above all they had more drive to succeed. Charlie quickly became disenchanted and would finally end up back in Odessa, a mere mortal, old and arthritic, longing for his past days of glory.

“He fit every stereotype of a dumb jock, all of which went to show how meaningless stereotypes can be.” p. 127

This quote is about the only Hispanic player on the team, Brian Chavez. Brian is academically at the top of his classes. He is fearless on the field and in his studies. Unlike most players who don the Permian colors, Brian holds the distinction of potential success strictly on his academic talents. Many of the players on Permian privately admire Brian’s position in life. Despite the daily worship heaped upon them at school, they harbor the knowledge that post high school football success is largely a pipe dream. At least Brian has a straight shot at success regardless if football works out or not.

“My values have not changed a bit since I was your neighbor in the fifties. My values are values like everyone here that I think of: faith , family, and freedom, love of country and hope for the future. Texas values. “ p. 177

George Bush, or at least his speechwriters, know exactly how to plant their Republican flag into the hearts and minds of white Odessans. Despite an extended recession leading to foreclosures and family breakup, the struggling white middle class of Odessa cling to the ideals of 1950’s Middle America. The white patriarchal nuclear family is a nostalgic illusion that many people still fantasize about. Their lives certainly don’t reflect it but at least they have the respite of high school football and conservative politics to hang onto.

"Aaron Giebel had begun work on his house –although calling it a house was the same as describing the Statue of Liberty as a figurine….It was as he said, 'a salute to our success.'" p. 206

We are introduced to people like Aaron Giebel of Midland, Odessa’s nearby sister city. He is one example of the many powerful men in West Texas that felt they were captains of their own capitalist fortunes. They won and lost millions of dollars. Despite their belief that they are masters of their own destinies, they are really always at the mercy of OPEC oil and the global oil market. By 1988 the oil economy is a bust. While oil machines lie in the wasteland like rotting carcasses, people like Aaron Giebel know that they are just one Middle East conflict away from reclaiming their destiny.

“But for Boobie, the risks were enormous, it might rekindle the interest of recruiters, who had gone on to whore after other tricks. But by playing there was always the risk of further damage to his knee.” p. 181

When Boobie steps onto the field again, he is an afterthought. Boobie wears the shame of the white jersey that is meant for second-string players. His knee is vulnerable, visible to any player that wants to take a shot at it. Boobie will take the faint hope of reigniting interest in scouts again. The college scouts, however, are only interested in long-term prospects that will lead to money. Despite college football’s armature status, the game can be worth millions of dollars in annual revenue for a school: they expect players like Boobie Miles to return tenfold on their investment.

Friday Night Lights Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Friday Night Lights is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Why will Jerrod McDougal not be playing college football?

In context, Jerrod was far too small to play football at the college level. Recognizing this, he decided that he would focus on coaching and mentoring high school athletes.

Who is the protagonist?

I would have to say that each of the six football players, on whom the book is focused, would be considered the protagonists.

Friday night lights

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Study Guide for Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights study guide contains a biography of H.G. Bissinger, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Friday Night Lights
• Friday Night Lights Summary
• Character List

Essays for Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger.

• Analyzing Friday Night Lights: Like Father Like Son?
• Society and It's Status Quo

Wikipedia Entries for Friday Night Lights

• Introduction
• Inspiration