H.G. Bissinger decided to pursue his dream and moved down to Odessa and stayed there for a year. While living there, he attended every practice, game, bus ride, team meeting, coaches meeting, pep rally, and often times hung out with the players himself. By doing this he hoped to take in full effect what it is like to live in Odessa, Texas and support Permian High School and Panther Football. He hoped to express to others in full and complete magnitude the lifestyle down in Odessa, Texas and its strong drive toward football excellence.
The book begins with the beginning of the season. The author gives us vivid backgrounds on important players and coaches and also describes the excitement everybody feels for the beginning of the season. Nearly every business in town, including Wal-Mart, closes down for the first day of football practice. Football in Texas is very important and taken very seriously, more serious than any other state in the nation. The author follows the team through the hard work, sacrifices, injuries, pain, tears, disappointments, arguments, losses and wins. The book gives us not only the players’ perspectives but the coaches’ as well.
The relationship between the townspeople of Odessa and Permian football is quite extreme. It is extremely rare to find a night where Ratliff Stadium is not filled clear to the top. The head coach often found up to twelve “For Sale” signs in his yard if the team lost and petitions often went around the town petitioning for the coach to be fired. As the coach’s wife once said in the book, “I don’t think they realize these are sixteen, seventeen, eighteen-year-old kids. I don’t think they realize these are coaches. They are men, they are not gods. They don’t realize it’s a game and they look at them like they’re professional football players. They are kids, high school kids, the sons of somebody, and they expect them to be perfect.”
One of the book’s strong points is its vivid description. The author goes into great detail of players, coaches, practices, and games. A reader can often visualize in their mind the whole book being played out. The reader feels as if they are playing in the games, sitting in the stands, or sitting there listening to the coach scream. Bissinger’s vibrant account is truly one of the book’s best qualities.
Another major strength is that the book becomes suspenseful. Bissinger always keeps a reader wondering if the team will win or lose and the book often takes unexpected turns. The book is so unpredictable, just as any football season would be. This suspense and unpredictable ness truly keeps a reader desiring to read more.
Friday Night Lights truly completes Bissinger’s goal of writing a book and illustrating high school football keeping a town together. It truly shows how important football and winning are to Permian fans, sometimes way too important. This book truly shows the compassion and sacrifices towards succeeding in Texas high school football.