Ever Heard of Friday Night Lights?

By now most folks in this country have heard about the book or the movie called "Friday Night Lights." It's the story from the entire 1988-89 football season in Odessa, Texas at Odessa Permian High School. Having played organized football for 10 years of my life, the story was one I could relate to. I've never been much of a reader, but I've known of the book for many years. It was a good thing for me when the movie came out. It was such a good movie that it made me want to read the book.

If you've only watched the movie, you may have gotten a different take on what really happened over the course of that football season in West Texas. According to many in the town, there were a lot of hurt feelings that emerged when the book went to print. Racial strife, bigotry, class warfare, excessive measures taken by coaches, parents, players, school faculty & students are observed and trumpeted to the world in book form. It's no wonder the whole town felt violated afterwards.

Unfortunately for Odessa, their city was the one selected by Mr. Bissinger (the book's author) out of the many hundreds of schools and towns across Texas - just like them. However, in the introduction, the writer makes it clear why he chose the home of Mojo as his subject audience. Odessa Permian is easily one of the most storied schools in the state with several state championships and many more playoff playoff appearances. Football is king in Texas but it's the center of life in Odessa. When anything garners so much energy, excesses follow and Permian High School is a prime example.

So, if you've not read the book or watched the movie, make an appointment for yourself. The truth is you may not like it.

Then again you may.