Friday Night Lights

Written By: Justin Backsmeyer


I have always been a football fan. More NFL than college in large part because I did not attend college. I suppose if I would have, I would spend my Saturdays in front of the TV or making weekend trips to the ‘ole’ alma mater for a little tailgating and debauchery. Over the last couple years, 7 to be exact I have been working on Saturdays and Sundays during football season. So suffice it to say I have not followed football as much as I would like.

Go back to my high School days, it was all about Friday Nights! My love for Friday Nights began when my brother played football for Parkway South as attending games would be the highlight of my week. It of course continued as I would attend Friday night games at my high school, DeSmet however, at the time…. DeSmet football was a lack luster team. A friend of mine would refer to it as a Mickey Mouse operation! I wouldn’t go that far, but it was still exciting to go to the game watch your boys play hoping for a school victory as you socialize with friends and make plans for post game activities. Good times!!

Now as I am a husband a father of one almost two, I still love Friday Nights…Friday Night Lights that is!!!! The NBC show that follows a small town Texas football team, the Dillon Panthers!

I have known many people from Texas and the one constant is they all have their passion for high school football. This is evident in the show as they depict a small town that follows their team through thick and thin. Brittani and I have become obsessed with the show. Every week we order a couple of dvds as we are renting them since we haven’t followed the show while it has been airing. Our nights usually consist of feeding Hudsen, playing with Hudsen, and finally putting her down around 8pm. We both know what time it is….2 episodes, exactly 80 minutes of great television. We have never been big into following television dramas, which is why it's so surprising how fast we got addicted to this show. Between the hard nosed head coach, Coach Taylor and their all star team that consist of Jason Street, All-American quarterback and All-State running back Brian ‘Smash’ Williams it is easy to get excited about what is going on in Dillon! They also take you on the journey of a number of relationships that transpire through-out the show….Tim Riggins (my personal favorite character) and Tyra Collette….Jason Street and Lila Garrity and finally the best story line back up quarterback, soon to be QB-1 Matt Saracen who ends up dating Coach Taylor’s daughter. This show covers everything from being a wholesome family to using steroids and your usual teenage temptations.

If you watch the show, it is easy to know why we love our Friday Night Lights, so much that it has inspired me to take the family to our nearby high school Lafayette to experience Friday Night lights Wildwood style. This of course would also be Hudsen’s first time taking part in one of America’s great traditions! As a family we enjoyed watching the team walk out to the field arms interlocked proud to play and represent their school, something very inspiring about that.

Knowing these young men are making memories of a lifetime and that many of them will hang onto those memories for the rest of their lives, eventually, one day watching another group of young men take the field with their children as I did with my daughter that night. As I never played a down of football it did remind me of time of my life that I was so proud of. I suppose that is why the tradition of high school football is still around.

We are now reaching the end of Season 4 waiting for Season 5. The anticipation is killing us! Until then, I suppose it is our equivalent to the off-season waiting for the the town of Dillon to come alive!!