Analysis Of Friday Night Lights By H. G. Bissinger

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The definition of sports has significantly altered, since the dawn of man. Sport was originally created as a source of entertainment for the public eye, but today, in society, sports serve a bigger purpose than separating the losers from the winners. According to an extensive quote written by Lewis Lapham, “..sports preserve an illusion of innocence...” that give both fans and spectators various abstract things. Therefore, the perception can be argued that sports are simply a mere diversion from life and provide only conceptual notions and feelings like living in a dream. Thus, this “...illusion...accounts for the wealth of American sports” (Lapham). On the other hand, one side can equally argue, sports are more than just a distraction and …show more content…

Bissinger, the main claims from Lapham’s quote are parallel and contradictory to the story. In a town known as Odessa, Texas, there lies a team where football is more than just a game. Sports, all in all, serve endless purposes in America for both the team and the fans.
The idea that sports present some with a distraction from reality is true, but that is not necessarily all it does. In Odessa, Texas, when a majority of the people were struggling with money, racial, as well as other economical and social issues, the town turned to the glorious evening football games which were played on the sacred Friday nights. However, sports played a more important role other than providing sanctuary for all those who needed to escape reality. Sports are more important than a mere diversion because it is one of the few place in life where both fans and players can-and-do-wear their hearts on their sleeves. In other words, the notion can be asserted that …show more content…

There is no innocence in any sport especially when it comes to football in Odessa. As thousands of fans gather to Odessa’s pride and glory- the Permian football team-, many of the players feel the heat. Football and all other sports for the matter are majorly competitive and quite physical. For instance, while used-to-be-all-star famous player “Boobie” Miles was playing a scrimmage game, his pride and cockiness got in the way. He wanted more; therefore, he got more… Boobie ended up horribly hurting his knee (56). Sports are dangerous and when one’s ego gets in the way, bad things will happen. Moreover, there is nothing innocent about “playing with a broken ankle… playing with broken hands… receiving a shot of Novocaine… or popping pain killers and getting shots of Valium” (44). According, to Bissinger playing for Permian meant suffering in the beginning to the end in order to win. When fans look out at the field, they do not even know a quarter of the amount of hard work and stress those boys have gone through and needed to go through. Fans and Spectators see a mere “illusion” of what is being performed out on the

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