Key Quotations- Friday Night Lights
“Life really wouldn’t be worth livin’ if you didn’t have a high school football
team to support.” (pg. 20)
This quote is said by Bob Rutherford, a town realtor, and it symbolizes
the epic dependence the town has on Permian.
“Whatever they fantasized about, it all seemed possible that day.” (pg. 24)
Said by the author, it was his observation of the feeling of invincibility
that the players had.
“A place still rooted in the sweet nostalgia of the fifties – unsophisticated,
basic, raw – a place where anybody could be somebody, a place still clinging
to all the tenets of the American Dream, however wobbly they had
become.” (pg. 33)
This is how Bissinger described Odessa and how it appeared to him.
“The grand dukes of Permian, men in their fifties and sixties, who had
become as dependent on the Panthers as they were their jobs and children
and wives and treated the memory of each game as a crystal prism that
looked more beautiful and intricate every time it was lifted to the light,
were there in full force, of course.” (pg. 40)
This shows that playing Permian football was like a rite of passage to be
apart of the former player fan base, one where former players could
recount their memories and treat them like valuable possessions.
"'He’s got a man’s body, but you’re dealing with the mentality of a twelve
year old child.'" (pg. 66)
Said by running back coach Mike Belew of Boobie Miles, this quote is
representative of Boobies immaturity; his choice to put all of his chips
into football was a decision that someone who did not realize the
importance of reality (a twelve year old child) would make.
“I got him to live through and that’s something pretty special.” (pg. 84)
These words, said by Charlie Billingsley of his son, Don, are not only
representative of their relationship but also of the ultimate
relationship between the players and their die-hard fans.
“Nigger. The word poured out in Odessa as easily as the torrents of rain that
ran down the streets after and occasion storm, as common as a part of the
vernacular as ‘ole boy’ or ‘bless his ittl biddy heart’ or ‘awl bidness’ or ‘I
sure did enjoy visitin’ with you’ or ‘God dang.’ “ (pg. 89)
This is the author's assessment of the racism in Odessa and how it saying
the word "nigger" was as easy as saying anything else.
“The American version of the Berlin Wall – the railroad tracks that
inevitably ran through the heart of town.” (pg. 91)
Another way Bissinger describes the social divide between the whites
and the blacks of Odessa.
“But it also may be that under the right circumstances, the demon wins the
heart of the most steadfast soul, and the nemesis always becomes a lover.”
(pg. 120)
Bissinger's description of Ivory Christian's attitude towards football: no
matter how much he tried to hate it, he couldn't help but love the
game.
“There was a heartbeat in those stands that dotted the Friday nights of
Texas and Oklahoma and Ohio and Pennsylvania and Florida and all of
America like a galaxy of stars, a giant, lurking heartbeat.” (pg. 193)
This explains that the attitude shown towards football in Odessa is not
uncommon in other big football states.
“It was a phenomenon that Trapper had seen dozens of times before, a kid
so caught up in it all that there was no room for anything else, another kid
for whom nothing in life would ever be so glorious, so fulfilling as playing
high school football. Trapper didn’t see the game as being a savior for these
kids. He saw it as ‘the kiss of death.’ “( pg. 284)
Said by Trapper, the team trainer, this quote represents the
inevititable fact that once Permian football has chewed you up and you
lived your glory days, it will spit you out just as quick, and you become
just another onlooker.
“. . . Kirby felt compelled to uphold the integrity of the no-pass, no play
rule.” (pg. 303)
The fact that the people of Odessa could ignore this rule, which was
meant to encourage education as a priority over playing football, d
emonstrates their ill-advised priorities.
“There was no glory here, no pomp, just the raw-boned sound of bodies
crashing into bodies.” (pg. 325)
Bissinger's description of the State Semi-final game between Carter
High and Permian.
“This is the last minute of your life.” (pg. 326)
Said by Ronnie Bevers, an offensive lineman, this quote demonstrates
that once your Permian football career is over, you have nothing to
look forward to.
“He lingered by his locker and started to sob again. ‘That’s why it hurts so
much, to lose to someone you know hasn’t worked as hard as you.’ “ (pg.
335)
Jerrod McDougal's quote after losing to Carter, depicts the unrivaled
passion and determination the Permian players had