A Texas town’s hopes and dreams ride on a football team as they take the field. Win and the town explodes into jubilation, lose and the town descends into depression. This isn’t the Dallas Cowboys or even the University of Texas Longhorns that I’m referring to but the Odessa Permian Panthers. In H.G. Bissinger’s book “Friday Night Lights,” the story of the economically depressed west Texas town of Odessa and its obsession with its high school football team is told. Bissinger followed the players, coaches and families of Panther football for an entire season to try to get a sense of just what Odessa Permian and Texas high school football was all about. He found that Odessa Permian football is Odessa.
The book centers around the Panther’s coach Gary Gaines, quarterback Mike Winchell, and running backs Boobie Miles and Don Billingsly. The book follows the ups and downs, touchdowns and injuries, family struggle and girlfriend problems that went along with this magical 1988 season and how it impacted Odessa.
“Friday Night Lights” became a blockbuster movie a few years back, but the book is strongly recommended for anyone who wants to take a more in-depth look at the 1988 Odessa Permian Panthers.