Lights On or Off?

In March of 1988, Bissinger visited Odessa and met with Permian's coach and a few other people. By the start of the fall season, he'd moved to Odessa with his family. At that point, he'd won the 1987 Pulitzer prize for Investigative Journalism for his series "Disorder in the Court," about transgressions of justice in the Philadelphia court system.

The people of Odessa eagerly anticipated the arrival of Bissinger's book. When it was published in 1990, they were shocked by its portrayal of the town's racism. In 1998, The Odessa American published a ten-part series about the book's repercussions, local reaction and the city's changes in the last decade. The first article was entitled "Coaches: Author painted an inaccurate picture."

"It was supposed to be a joyous time in Odessa, one where all the virtues and morality of a town defined by its beliefs was laid out for the entire world to see," the article stated. "It was supposed to be a time when a big-time football team from small-town America became the 'Hoosiers' of the gridiron. It sounded like such a good idea at the time."

Gary Gaines, who coached the 1988 Permian team, claimed that no real racial bias existed during the season.

"It's just one of those deals where you can drag up dirt everywhere if that's what you choose to do," he said in the article.

Gaines acknowledged that he'd never read the book, though his wife read it so he knew the gist. In the same article, all the players backed up Bissinger's story -- even when it highlighted the negative aspects of Odessa.

"Everyone has prejudices, and they express those when they don't think they'll be quoted," said Don Billingsley, a former running back for the Permian Panthers. "I had my share of quotes in there that I wish I could take back, but I loved every one of my teammates."

In a recent interview with the Houston Press, former Permian tight end Brian Chavez also commended Bissinger's book.

"I always thought it was funny," he says. "If you ever talk to anyone who thought the book wasn't truthful or accurate and then your second question is, Did you ever read it? The answer is no."

Chavez says Odessa's perception of the book has flipped "180 degrees" since the movie came out. In the early 1990s, Bissinger received death threats before coming to Odessa to promote the book. He canceled his trip. Then, when the movie filmed in town, locals "kind of welcomed him with open arms," says Chavez.

"It's Hollywood. People get stars in their eyes," he says. "Hollywood kind of tends to do that to people. Having a bunch of stars in town and being filmed, everyone kind of got excited."

These days, Chavez says, people are disappointed that the television series isn't set in Odessa or retelling the story of the Permian Panthers. With or without the Friday Night Lights attention, the Panthers remain a central part of town culture. Their Web site, http://www.kylgrafx.com/mojo/, has youtube-esque video clips of each player stating his name, grade and positions on the field. There are also links to the "Mojo Museum," the "first virtual museum for a high school football team." Nowhere on the front page is Friday Night Lights mentioned.

Chavez himself went to Harvard University after graduation. He was recruited to play football, but the team didn't compare to his Permian experience, the intensity of the coaching and playing with his childhood friends. At Harvard he went to a Friday practice and a Saturday varsity game and then decided to quit.

"They were just too terrible," he says. "It wasn't for me. I ended up playing rugby."

Back in the 1990s after the book came out, Hollywood struggled to pull together the movie, according to another article in the Odessa American series. A former high school quarterback himself, director Richard Linklater wrote a script, scheduled a 51-day shoot in Odessa and found former football players to pose as the Permian Panthers. Then Universal Studios pulled funding for the project in 1998.

All the while, Peter Berg had his eye on the prize, too. Berg and Bissinger are second cousins. Back in 1990, Berg received an early print of the book and called his cousin saying he wanted to make it into a movie. By the end of the decade, he was finally involved with the project and visiting Odessa.

Bissinger didn't feel the need to consult on the film, but when his cousin called, he expressed his opinions. He also flew in for filming and sat on set for the final game scene in the Houston Astrodome. There, he had a conversation with another producer about how all the book's themes and issues couldn't be compressed into the movie.

At this point, the seedlings for the series were growing. Berg also had similar ideas.

Berg talks about Texas high school football culture as if he is part sociologist, part proud cult member. Before filming the movie, he spent seven months observing football programs in Austin-area high schools. The television series explores topics from the book and his experiences that he couldn't fit into his movie.