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You like tennis and baseball? I think the town should turn on you instead lol

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The team the show refers to has been good for a whle. I don't know where you grew up, but when HS teams are good, everyone gets involved. I'm from VA and a local HS had a foodtball team that went undefeated for a few years primarily because the QB was the golden child(Ronald Curry, ended up in UNC i believe). Everyone knew about them and when he graduated all the papers spoke about if the dynasty was over(it was). No different than college towns that have good college teams with lots of history(Mary Washington college football vs Notre Dame football fans?) or national teams(How Utah football for NFL vs Patriots?)

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You wanna see how people love their teams? Go check out a replay of the Miami/Miami International game..football is a religion man and I would be the first one in line to hang the coach if I could.

FOOTBALL RULZ!!!

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It's not just a Texas/southern thing. It's also a small town thing. And I don't think it is any more foreign a world than most TV shows. I relate more to the small town dynamic there than I do to the FBI world of Without A Trace, as one example.

But if you haven't seen it, I think you are missing out on one of the best performances on TV this season. Kyle Chandler, as Coach Taylor, is incredible.

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FWIW, your entire post could easily be search/replaced (well, ok, not easily) to be written by a football fan wondering why someone cares so much about any TV show...

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Part of the reason I love this show is *because* the town is so psycho. It's like visiting a strange and fascinating culture without having to live there. I hate football too, and I'm female to boot, so the fact that I watch this show anyway means it's good.

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Bob - that's like telling us you don't like spinach becasue PopEye gave you a dirty look.

Now, I wouldn't use the word "ignorant" to describe your view of high school football in the South, becuase it's hard to understand unless you actually LIVE in the South. That's what this show attempts to show people: a view of the pressure that football coaches and players face in the South. Instead of ripping the show (that you've never seen) for something that's factual, how about you actually sit down and what to get an idea as to just how NUTS the sports of football is below the Mason Dixon line.

Good or bad, high school football is life in the South. I'm sure there's a lot of southerners who wouldn't understand why someone would spend 10 hours a week writing summarizations of TV shows on an Internet website that only a few thousand folks known about... but that's your decision.

This is a really lame post. Come on Bob.

...did you write this post just to make your WIN quota for the month?

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i don't understand why the concept is so foreign to you. first, it is a small town with one shot at glory: football. second, as mentioned above, when any team is doing really well (ie- a shot at state championship), lots of people get involved. finally, this isn't just a football thing. do you realy mean to tell me that baseball fans in a small town with a great baseball team wouldn't be emotionally invested in the wins or losses? that tells me you either grew up in a big city where nobody cares, or in a place with no strong athletic teams.

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Im from Texas, and when i read the sentence that is in question, i did not seem odd to me. I live in Houston but was raised in Portland TX a small town outside of Corpus Christi. Like it or not, but Highschool football means alot to the community. When you come from an area that is mainly forgetten the rest of the year, a great football can lift an entire town. When the team does not perform as expected the team can turn on you. Some of these coaches make more money the mayor of the school, thats how big of deal it is here.
And if you dont believe me, Permian Odessa Panthers (the team for which the show and book is the basis for) recently played there rivals midland lee. 20,000 people showed up to the game to see some of the best teams in the state.
I love this show, but i think it makes so much sense being that im from Texas, and also i have had that experience with small town life. Although it seems to get "varsity blued" alot, i think it does an accurate job at portraying the pressure these young men go through.
p.s. Go GP Wildcats! i hope they beat Beeville Trojans this weekend

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As I follow which shows you like and dislike (and they often are the sames I like and dislike) I would encourage you to see "Friday Night Lights".
See, I'm not a football fan... As a matter of fact I don't care for football the slightest because I'm european and I like the real football (which you call soccer ;) ). So I wasn't that much turned on by the idea to watch a show about football. Well, since I always watch the first episode to make up my mind I can say I'm hooked. The show had me already 30 seconds after the beginning because of the beautiful soundtrack. And then there were really believable characters that you immediately love or hate. It also makes sense, that these games are so important: This town has nothing to be proud of but it's football team. So to lose this one thing to hang on to does mean the world to them.
The show does are great job setting up the atmosphere, the characters and it does not, however, concentrate too much on football (being played on the field). And I have to admit the ending of episode one made me almost cry because it was so good (haven't seen the movie and didn't read any spoilers). Check it out!
Maybe not episode three, but episode one... Shouldn't be that hard to find ;)

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This has nothing to do with Texas or the South. If you've ever stepped out of a large urban center you would know that to a huge segment of this country, high school football is as important as the Steelers are to Pittsburgh.

Now I haven't watched the show either, and I played high school football, so i may be biased, but not being a superhero doesn't stop me from checking in on heroes. Not being a Vampire Slayer never stopped me from enjoying buffy. Not being a member of the colonial fleet, lawyer, doctor, cop etc. The setting is simply a vehicle for human drama. Judging a show without ever watching it, while being someone who is supposed to be writing about television professionally is not only elitist, it's stupid.

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Bob!
How can you say anything about a show without watching it. That's just wrong. Secondly as a TV guy that has heard such great things about it how could you not check it out for your sake as a critic? Most tv critics out there watch everything. I've been limited without my tivo for the past two months but am raring back with a new setup next week (finally, our move is almost over).
Now, don't get me wrong. after checking out shows like Lost and finding it wasn't my thing I didn't watch it. But I still watched it first!!

And yes the whole point of the movie and the show is how much football can mean to small towns without much else to look forward to. But even in big cities and places like South Florida where I grew up it is a huge deal. Most newspapers give more ink to high school football these days than tv listings ;)

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I'm not really a football fan myself, and I think that's part of what I like about this series.... it's not about football, it's about a small town obsession.

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This has nothing to do with the south, it's about small towns. There are plenty of small towns all over the country that treat high school football this way. Ever see All the Right Moves? And there are plenty of big cities all over the country, including the south that don't care about highschool football.

But, it's a good show. Except for the actual football game which was incredibly poorly scripted. But you won't be bothered by that, since you're not a football fan anyway. Give it a chance, anyway, before you decide you don't like it.

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OK. I live in Texas and I can tell you for a fact that any high school coach that takes over a winning team and loses will be in trouble with the whole town....no kidding.

The office I work in is next to a high school football stadium. I had business associates from California here for training classes and they were amazed at the size of the stadium. They couldn't believe it was for high school football.

HS Football here is CRAZY....

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I think Landon is right about the quotas on this one. Yet another example of that "blue state/coastal" thought process: If I don't know of it, it can't be interesting.

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I would rank FNL as my favorite new show of the season. It's worth seeing at least once.

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You know I'm gonna have to agree that this is a pretty weak reason to dislike a show. Now, given that nobody can watch everything on TV, even just an episode or two, you have to make your choices somehow. So, with that in mind, I'd be fine if you said that this is why you weren't interested in the show, but to dislike something you need to have (or at least should have) some acquaintance with it. You're passing judgment on things (both tv shows and ways of life) that you have absolutely no knowledge of. You could take care of both problems in one fell swoop by just watching one episode. If you can't spare the time that's fine, but then don't post on it.

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i dont't like this show either, and i haven't seen it either. i can relate to what bob is saying, but mostly i think i'm footballed out. remember the titans, radio, the fnl movie, the fnl book, etc, etc, etc. and they're all so emotional/inspirational/cliche that it makes me sick. can't they pick another sport to make a tv show about? or is football all anyone cares about?

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