Friday Night Lights

[Jewbull]

Lights out....I wont spoil the movie for anyone but it was def over rated, they said it compares to Hoosiers and Rudy....No Comparison  

[The Sheriff]

I concur JewBull. Saw it... but my thoughts were it was a cross between Varsity Blues and Any Given Sunday. A two star movie... definitely not the four stars it was receiving.

[E.T.]

Disappointing to hear  :-[ was hoping for a real good football movie  

Will definately wait for DVD rental now.

Go BULLS !!!

[smazza]

good book

[TripleB]

Nothing can compare to "Hoosiers"............

[No_Willie_Jokes_Yet]

Playboy says its more like "The Last Picture Show" than a football movie. The recomend bringing a towel for the girls to cry.

[bulls96go]

was this a chick flick?

[Markeymark]

my thoughts were it was a cross between Varsity Blues and Any Given Sunday. A two star movie... definitely not the four stars it was receiving.

That about sums it up.

I didn't really see the 'chick flick' angle that people are talking about.

Go rent 'Remember the Titans' instead.

[WoolyBully]

Playboy says its more like "The Last Picture Show" than a football movie. The recomend bringing a towel for the girls to cry.

A classic film about small town Tejas, the good thing about  The Last Picture Show was it afforded the opportunity to view Cybill Shepherd buck nekkid.  

[Ricky the Bull]

In today's Trib, an article about Brett's days covering this team....

The message on my answering machine was brief.

``Hey McMurphy, nice column today. I'd be careful starting your car in the morning.''

That was 1986. I was in Odessa, Texas, covering Permian High School's football program for The Odessa American. My column suggested Permian's fans should be more appreciative of the players. After all, they were undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the state.

This anonymous caller didn't agree. When Chris Magee, the American's sports editor, learned of the threat, he remarked: ``You mean, you only got one call?''

That was my welcome to Permian football and one example of my experiences covering the winningest program in Texas high school history. The rest of America is discovering Permian through ``Friday Night Lights.'' The film opened Friday and is based on H.G. Bissinger's best-selling book chronicling Permian and the city of Odessa during the 1988 season.

The book is better, but watching the movie brought back memories of seeing those Friday night lights blazing high in the West Texas sky.

What National Pastime?

Before coming to the Tribune, I worked in Odessa for two years as a sports writer at The American. My second year, in 1986, I was promoted to cover the Permian Panthers.

I didn't know much about the Panthers, or as they prefer to be called, Mojo, before moving to Odessa. That quickly changed.

In 1985, rival Midland Lee hosted Permian, but Mojo officials wanted the game moved because Midland Memorial Stadium held only 10,200 fans.

Permian's Ratliff Stadium, a $5.6 million temple built in 1982 that towers above the surrounding desert and tumbleweed, holds 20,000. It also features an artificial turf field and a two-story press box with suites for VIPs.

Lee refused, so the schools agreed to have it televised, a first in Texas for a regular-season prep game. Midland/Odessa's three local television stations bid for the TV rights, won by NBC affiliate KTPX for $9,000.

There was only one problem. State rules prohibit televising high school games on Fridays, so Permian-Lee was played Thursday night, pre- empting Game 2 of the 1985 National League Championship Series between the Dodgers and Cardinals. The station and The American received no complaints.

Baseball may be the national pastime, but in Odessa football is bigger. Much bigger. It's life.

Tough Act To Follow

Bissinger's book, published in 1990, gained national attention for showing how single-minded devotion to the team shaped the community and inspired the players who played for Permian. It also brought to light racial issues in the community and questioned why the school spent more on its football team than the English department.

Because I had covered Permian, Bissinger contacted me in Tampa. His book chronicled the Panthers' 1988 season and focused on six players and Coach Gary Gaines.

I first met Gaines in 1985 when he was head coach at nearby Monahans High. In 1986, Gaines had the unenviable task of replacing Permian coach John Wilkins, who was retiring.

Under Wilkins, Mojo reached four state finals, won two state titles and a mythical national title and lost only 16 games in 14 years.

Maybe that's why Mojo fans called him A.G. for ``Almost God.''

His replacement, Gaines, was no God, just one of the nicest men I've ever known.

In Gaines' first year, Mojo started 7-0 and was No. 2 in the state. Then the unthinkable happened - Permian lost to hated Midland Lee 24-14.

When Gaines returned home that night, several ``For Sale'' signs were planted in his front yard. All would be forgiven by next week if Mojo beat San Angelo Central to reach the state playoffs.

However, the Panthers lost 14-7. Gaines' first season ended 7-2. For Permian fans it might as well been 2-7. Not only was Odessa's oil business crippled by its worst economic crisis in history, but even worse to some Permian didn't make the playoffs.

Before that season, Gaines told me he realized the pressure at Permian.

``Football is awful important to our community and important to our kids,'' Gaines said. ``The success Permian has enjoyed has created a tradition. And the kids want to work hard to maintain this winning tradition.''

Gaines lasted only four seasons. But he wasn't run out of town. He left for Texas Tech after leading Mojo to a 16-0 record, the 1989 Class 5A state title and a mythical national title.

Heads Or Tails?

Mojo's mystique wasn't its 82.5 winning percentage, but that the Panthers were usually undersized and rarely featured Division I-A prospects. They made up for it by being fearless and relentless.

On Fridays, the town shut down. Storefront windows displayed ``Closed. Gone To the Game'' signs. Thousands of fans drove in a caravan to away games, while others frequently took charter planes.

Where else but Permian could a booster club sell 513 ads for a 224-page football yearbook that raised $20,000?

Or where would a fan refuse painkillers after having heart bypass surgery because he was receiving score updates from Mojo's game with Midland Lee? Only when Mojo had clinched the win did the man start taking his medicine.

Another example, which is featured in the film, is a local TV station broadcasting live at 1:19 a.m. Saturday a three-way coin-flip between the Permian, Lee and Midland High coaches to determine which two teams advance to the 1988 playoffs.

It's held at a truck stop diner outside of town. Because officials feared several thousand fans would attend, sports anchor Skip Baldwin opens the broadcast: ``Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to an undisclosed location.''

Viewers then watch three grown men toss coins in the air while Baldwin delivers play- by-play.

Odessa American columnist Ken Brodnax, who has lived in the city since 1971, said the worshiping of Mojo has recently subsided. Partly because of the warts Bissinger's book exposed and also the fact once-mighty Mojo hasn't reached the state playoffs since 1998.

One of Brodnax's favorite stories during Mojo's heyday was when a game was interrupted by a torrential downpour and ``run-for-your-life'' lightning. The storm knocked the power out and cleared the stadium.

After the storm passed and the Ratliff Stadium lights came back on, Brodnax said it appeared every single person had returned.

That's because in Odessa, everyone is drawn to those Friday night lights.

http://tampatrib.com/Sports/MGBQGLPE40E.html