football

I really enjoy reading Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger because of the many aspects of life it looks at. The story takes place in Odessa, Texas; a quiet desert town still segregated in 1988. The author traveled to this west Texas town to observe the people and write about them. Specifically he wanted to concentrate on their high school football team, the Permian Panthers. All the black people live in the poorer part of the town and have to go to a certain school until recently. The whites all live in the "better" part of town and attend a nicer high school. Even though these events happened only 15 years ago, segregation still has a tight hold on Odessa. The only time the town truly comes together was during the football games. Everyone goes to the games; it didn't matter whom you were, everybody who was anybody attended them. Living through the high school players and show immense support for both black and white players. The story takes the reader through personal stories, injuries, wins, losses, and the history of Odessa. No one person takes on the role of main character, the whole team and the townspeople assume it together. The book takes a little while to get started due to the prologue, long recollection of the town's background and long preseason description. Once past this I fell in love with this book because as far as sports go, football is the best and racial issues, intrigue me. Any readers who enjoy sports or the events in an up and down town ruled by the oil business, should read this book.

This book takes place in Odessa, Texas where the Permian Panthers are one of the most successful football programs in Texas. In this book the author H.G. Bissinger is a reporter from the Chicago Tribune. His goal is to set out and follow the 1988 Permian Panther team. Bissinger didn't only just go to Odessa to watch them play football. He also went because he wanted to see how they lived, how they were treated, how they managed in school, and he even went to church with some of them. Bissinger did a very good job on researching all of this information and writing the book. The players of the Panthers all have dreams and those are to go on to college to play for some high college like Nebraska or Texas A&M. Boobie Miles, one of the main characters in the story, is one of those players who dreams of playing for Nebraska or Texas A&M. But when he has a knee injury that makes him not playable he has to sit out for some of the season. Throughout the season a lot of the players have to either sit out due to injuries or sit out due to failing grades. It all comes down to the most important game of the year. Will the panthers win the game or will they lose the game? Well if you want to know why don't you read the book and find out. I chose to read this book not only because I love football but because the cover on the book made it look interesting. Then I read the book and it turned out to be one of the most truthful and most amazing books that I have ever read. I really would recommend this book to anyone who is a sports lover or someone who is just looking for a good book to read. At the end of the book there is an epilogue that tells you everything that happened to the players.

When I first picked up this book, on my lunch break, I arbitrarily flipped to a page in the middle and started reading. I became so engrossed in it that I was late getting back to work from my lunch break. Such is the superb quality of writing that Bissinger brings to this book.

Friday Night Lights is about the Permian High School Panthers football team in the 1988 season. In Odessa, TX, they only "have two things - football and oil, and there ain't no more oil." Carried on the adolescent shoulders of the black-clad Panthers are the hopes, dreams, aspirations, and societal well-being of an entire community. The book focuses on the intense scrutiny and pressure placed on the players, coaches, and even families associated with the program. After a tough loss, the head coach can expect to have his house vandalized, his family verbally assaulted, and calls made for his firing. The student population of Permian is predominantly white, but the few black players imported from Odessa's poor, mostly black, south side are some of the team's most successful players. The book highlights the contrast in the white, wealthy suburban area Permian is located in against the older section of Odessa, populated mostly by blacks and Hispanics.

The book also profiles several of the team's star players. Some live for every single moment they can wear the Panthers uniform, while others are conflicted at having to play in such a pressure-cooker environment. Some are the lucky sons of Odessa's richest residents, bound for Ivy-League schools, while others come from painful poverty and broken homes. Odessa is portrayed as an entire city of broken dreams, devastated by the downturn in the oil industry where unemployment is high and crime higher. What holds the community together is the Friday Night Lights at Ratliff Stadium, where the Panthers do battle not only for team and school pride, but for the pride of an entire community and people. I cannot recommend this book more highly.