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

Permian Panthers players are introduced to the community at August's annual Watermelon Feed. The event attracts an enormous crowd of 800 eager townspeople, many dressed formally in the team color (black) for the occasion. The Panthers have a concession booth selling team-themed clothing and raise $20,000 by selling advertisement space in their football yearbook.

Earlier in the 1980s, a wealthy politician named Ross Perot, who was assigned to reform Texas’s educational system, ran afoul of the townspeople of Odessa for critiquing their multi-million dollar football stadium. Outraged, many people from Odessa signed petitions against Perot and even sent him hate mail.

Many Permian players suffer exceptional physical injuries for their sport, including broken hands, arms, and ankles, and, for one unfortunate player, the loss of a testicle. These injuries and the frequent use of painkillers, Valium, and novocaine are not a source of controversy or concern in the community, who view them as necessary and normal sacrifices to excel at the game. The town’s fanatical devotion to the game means that the players are particularly “fearless,” which results in the team having a remarkably successful track record that included eight years in the state championship.