My fantasy football team name is Dillon Panthers. This is a tribute to Friday Night Lights, the tv series (I haven't watched the movie which lead to the tv series). Though I do like tv, I'm not into serious tv. This means I haven't watched The Wire, The Sopranos, Mad Men, or Breaking Bad. I know, I know...what can I say? I've never had HBO and for awhile, I didn't even have cable. I've seen every single episode of Sex and the City because I bought my sister the Sex and the City collector's edition for her birthday one year (her request). I eventually made it through the entire series.
The only reason I've seen Friday Night Lights is because my oldest friend became obsessed with it. She then got our other best friend (we've known her since second grade) into it and then it was just peer pressure. They encouraged me to watch it (all five seasons which just sounded like a huge time commitment) because I like football, it is well made, and the story-lines were superb. Also between the two of them, they had all five seasons.
Friday Night Lights is a tv series about football, but really about family. Every Friday night, the people of Dillon, Texas are bonded by football to become family. The core family is the Taylor family which is comprised of Coach Taylor, his wife Tami Taylor, and their daughters. The best part of Friday Night Lights is they took a risk with Coach Taylor and Mrs. Taylor as a couple with a strong marriage who genuinely care for each other. Everyone I know who has watched the series, admires the Taylors. Individually, the Taylors are strong. I often think all NFL coaches would be better if they tried to emulate Coach Taylor. Once I told a friend I was 90% sure I could coach better than Norv Turner just because I had watched every single episode of Friday Night Lights. I also know there is huge following of women who live by "wwttd" which stands for "what would Tami Taylor do" when faced with a huge decision. She is one of the strongest female characters ever written. The fact they are a married couple who lean on each other out of respect and love would make anyone envious if they weren't so admirable. The drama from the series mostly stems from the high school players who see football as glory, a way out of poverty, an alternative to a prison life, or even a replacement for the family they never really had.
With the end of Breaking Bad near, everyone has been talking about tv series that ended well. I can personally attest that Friday Night Lights has a pretty perfect ending. You will feel warm-hearted by the end. You may also want to move to Texas. So you won't be disappointed once you make it through all five seasons. Though season 2 is weird and cut short by the last writers' strike. Friday Night Lights changed the way I live my life. How could it not when the most pivotal words from the series is Coach Taylor's favorite saying of "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!"
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