It has recently come to my attention that several members of the FYA-reading public have chosen to ignore our repeated entreaties to watch Friday Night Lights, aka the greatest show ever created, because . . . well, I don’t know because. Because I guess you guys think that we’re leading you to ill when in fact ALL WE EVER DO is look out for you? Don’t you remember that dream you had where you were walking down the beach and there were two sets of footprints and then the beach got really treacherous, as beaches often do (? Where did the guy live who wrote that poem? The beaches of ‘Nam?) and there was only one set of footprints in the sand and you asked God why He abandoned you in your darkest hour and God was like, “dude, I’m GOD; don’t question my motivations! I was carrying you. With one hand! While using the other to spin plates! CAUSE I’M GOD AND I CAN DO THAT SHIT.” Well, we were there too!! We were there but we were riding piggyback on you, because the sand was hot and we forgot to wear our flip flops.
ANYWAY. What I’m saying is that we look out for you. It’s part of our job to make sure your lives are well rounded and full of awesomeness, which is why we separate the wheat from the chaff in books and lead you to pictures of shirtless male CW stars. It’s a job we take on with all the gravitas it requires, pausing in our 24/7 efforts only long enough to drink a few bottles of champagne a day. And maybe, like, go to the bathroom. I mean, I’m not risking bladder disease for this blog.
So when we tell you to watch Friday Night Lights, and you refuse to watch Friday Night Lights, it makes us sad. So very sad. But we think that maybe the problem is that you’ve got some misconceptions about the show? Maybe you, like so many others (including a few FYAers!), were disinterested in the show because you thought it was about football and hulking dudes and beer (though why that wouldn’t appeal to you, I’m not sure). Well, since we’re about to begin a series discussing the glory of this show in more detail, I thought it was high time we address these concerns of yours.
Excuse #1: This is a show about football. I HATE FOOTBALL.
So do a lot of people who watch Friday Night Lights! Including over half of FYA! (I personally love football.) And there’s a reason that so many football haters love Friday Night Lights! And that’s because . . . it’s not actually about football.
“But Erin! Surely you jest! Of course it’s about football! It’s about an entire football team! Everyone’s wearing football jerseys! It’s based on a book about football!”
Well, I certainly can’t argue all of the fact you’ve just laid out. But I can counter with a little SAT prep question:
Football : Friday Night Lights :: ______ : Buffy
A) Keen fashion sense
B) Spander
C) Vampires
If you answered C, you get a point! Is Buffy about vampires? Nominally. There are vampires in many episodes. There are Big Bad vampires who plague the Scooby gang. But vampires aren’t the story, just a way to tell the story. It’s just the same with football and Friday Night Lights. Yeah, it’s a show about a town obsessed with football. But that’s just the way to tell the story.
Excuse #2: Yeah, but that guy y’all are always going on about? Tim Riggins? Sorry, but he does nothing for me!
That’s okay! More for us! But more importantly, more for you. FNL has a plethora of fine eligible men and women with whom to enter into fictional monogamous relationships. Like ‘em a little shy and big-hearted? Look no further than Matt Saracen! Want a guy with swagger and the skills to back it up? Smash is your man! Like a guy who’s nerdy and into Christian speed metal? Be a groupie for Landry! Of the lady-lovin’ persuasion? If you don’t fall for Tami Taylor or Tyra Collette, there’s just something wrong with you.
Excuse #3: Okay, okay. Hot guys, not actually about football, fine. But you’re missing one thing. It’s set in TEXAS. I hate Texas.
Well, excuse me! What’d Texas ever do to you? (Unless you’re poor, Mexican, Black, gay or a woman. In which cause, you know. Sorry.) Texas is the home of half of the FYA group, you know, and it raised us well. It’s big, it’s beautiful, it’s complicated and it’ll steal your heart and give you some BBQ in return. And the stories told of it will captivate you, trust me.
Excuse #4: All that’s well and good, Erin. But I actually TRIED to watch an episode once, and it was SUPER BORING.
Well, yeah, that’ll happen. I mean, you call it boring, I call it quiet. But let’s be honest – the series isn’t exactly explosions and sex scenes. And if that’s your thing, then the show’s not for you. But I urge you to give the show a chance to win you over. It’s a character-driven series and these characters will become your best friends, your honorary parents, your role models. And if they haven’t done that in, say, half a season? Then the show’s not for you. And that’s okay! But I hope it is.
So! Hopefully this has convinced you to get home tonight and crank up the Netflix or Amazon Prime and start watching this show! In the next few weeks, we’ll start waxing on about all of our favorite parts of this show and we really hope you’ll join us!
Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose.
