Friday Night Lights

Odessa is a product of oil boom and bust economics; in the late 1980’s the economy was mostly a bust. The failure of the economy predictably leads to failures in family structure, education, and community stability. Bissinger often alludes to the surreal importance that the community puts on high school football. All the stresses of life in a tough economy are placed squarely on the shoulders of a group of teenage boys and a coach whose job depends on success. Football becomes a very odd partner with food stamps, divorce, and social marginalization. The rush of attending a game on Friday night is a temporary elixir for the town’s socio-economic woes. After their final year of football, most of these boys are spit back into Odessa’s depressed economy. They enter an unforgiving world with a few memories of football glory and a mediocre education.