Two Infinities

Mon, 14 Feb 2005

Friday Night Lights

Why are the red states so stupid? Why do they hate Hollywood in the hinterlands? Well, take a close look at the movie Friday Night Lights. I'm sure they know a lot about a lot of things in Hollywood, but they don't know west Texas. Worse, they don't seem too interested in learning any more. Now, I'm sure I'm guilty of false generalization. That movie was made by individuals, not Hollywood collectively. I don't know if The Rookie got the culture any better or if they were just friendlier about it. And if you want home grown hostile caricature, there's always The Last Picture Show. If you want to see the tragedy of injury to young atheletes, let Spike Lee take you to Hoop Dreams. But if you want to understand how football stadiums and schools and churches and sheriffs and guns and oil field hands weave into the social fabric of west Texas, you'll not get it in this movie.

I grew up in the Permian basin, a couple hours west of Midland. It was the 60's, not the 80's of the movie. The football coach in our town was L. G. Henderson. "Little God", we'd call him sometimes. I don't think there were any town folk dropping by Coach Henderson's office to tell him how to coach, good year or bad. And, trust me, no parent interferred with practice. There were rules, and the fathers had jobs. I understand his son, Cooper, is coaching the team now, and I understand that our little school still wins state titles in its division and I understand Cooper inherited something of his father's mix of intensity and moral fiber.

My brother played for L.G. and finished his senior year with three, count 'em, serious injuries. Crushed nose, fractured wrist, hernia. But the physical discipline was something he never lost or regretted. And sure he was doing it for my Dad who would yell himself hoarse at the Friday night games as early as we could remember. But there was more to it than mindless subservience to the team; consider the time he donned a black arm band for the Vietnam War Moratorium, the only member of the team to do so and walked into the field house. Guess he got beat up a little at practice, but that boy was nothing if not defiant. And I can't help thinking the team respected him for it.