What draws 20,000 people to a high school football game on a weekly basis?

For Odessa, Texas, its High School American Football program takes on the significance of religion or even life itself. The book follows its author who spent an entire year chronicling the journey of its high-school football program, the Permian Tigers, and the town it represented. It portrays the action on the gridiron and the preparation done towards the games, against the backdrop of the school and town in the midst of Economic fluctuation and racial tension. It shows the high of the wins, the low of the losses and the hope, dream and cynicism that lives in-between.

Insights I gain from this book:

1. How important are results and winning? At Odessa, result is above all else and the team is in the Business of winning. All is well and good when you’re winning but things turn toxic quickly with losing. What really is the right kind of pressure so things don’t turn nasty?
2. In the service of winning, many kids were indoctrinated to dedicate their lives to football. Any failure is treated with low empathy and any interest outside of football is not a focus. We can see news of this going on in many parts of America, both in high school and college. We really need to ask ourselves what kind of education we want to give to kids. Are we equipped them for better lives with football or with academics?
3. Sports create so much pride, passion, pressure, identity and expectation. It brings out the best in you but can also be debilitating.
4. Don’t let failure define your life. Losing with so much expectation can feel like the end of the world but lives go on and one can achieve better things in the future.
5. It is sobering to go into the details of the oil boom and bust cycle the Odessa residents are in. With a lot of struggle and misery, it is not surprising that a successful football team they can call their own can provide an outlet to their lives.
6. The story exposed the racial and gender stereotypes that were a big undercurrent in many parts of America, and still is.

I got interested in the story through the 2004 film and love the 5-part TV series but the book really delves so much deeper into the underbelly of this culture, both the good and the ugly, and the mindset of the different casts in the story. Love it or hate it, this is the reality of many people, living for that Friday Nights to dream again. Is that admirable or sad? Each of us can decide for ourselves