What is the watermelon feed?

Bissinger talks about the Watermelon Feed held at Permian in August as a preseason celebration. He then chronicles the history of Permian football. Since its founding in 1959, it had won the state championship in 1965, 1972, 1980 and 1984. Despite the fact that it only won one state championship in the 1970s Permian had statistically been the winningest team in the state of Texas. Bissinger then discusses the pressure Gaines is constantly under because of how devoted the Permian fans are. High school football is used as a distraction for the once thriving community of Odessa which has gone into a slump when the second boom ended.