American football culture is a strange phenomenon for people to understand. Though passions shift from culture to culture, sports fans across the world are very passionate about their sports teams, and football is becoming a major aspect of everyday life for avid fans. Football has been growing to new heights in the last few decades and is creating fanatics across the globe.  Football is becoming more than a game; it is becoming a lifestyle, a religion, an economical boost, but is also being taken to an extreme level which can be dangerous for the players and fans. This beautifully, complex game gathers communities, states, and even enemies bringing them together as one by using competitiveness and comradery to give a similar interest that can be respected. It is a relatable subject for people to converse about in everyday life, and promotes the gathering of people for face-to-face interactions, which is rare these days. Economical increases are also a normal result of having a football team in a city, and Columbia is a fantastic example of this. Football games bring tourists, stimulate businesses around the stadium, and bring popularity to the city which all have a tremendously positive affect on the city. In the second chapter of, Friday Night Lights, "The Watermelon Feed", Bissinger discusses the sacrifices that both players and fans make for their high school football team, the Permian Panthers. The fans and players of the Permian Panthers in Odessa, Texas revolve their lives around the game of football, but it is not always beneficial to everyone. The competitive nature of the game can bring the ugly side out of some people, and injuries are always an issue. 

Football in West Texas has become the most important thing for families, causing their life to revolve around the game. We can see this when Bissinger quotes a Permian fan saying, "When somebody talks about West Texas, they talk about football You take it away and it's almost like you strip the identity of the people" (Bissinger 320). This quotes give us a great understanding of the world of ravenous fans that these high school football players have to deal with on a daily bases. The Permian fans feel as if they are nothing without football. The pressure for a teenage kid on this football team must be outrageous considering football is a religion to families in West Texas and the boys are the heroes to the cities Cinderella Story. Words like "prayer", "pastor", "Temple", "joy", "hero", and "respect" pop up in this chapter. This shows an emphasis on religion and also gives us the author's stance on this subject of football being the life and soul of the local people. It is obvious to point out that Bissinger accepts the Texans fashion of fanatical outlook towards football for the most part, and finds it thrilling in a sense. He explains the atmosphere of the city with such passion and exuberance, and this is shown when he is explaining to us that the whole town shuts down for the games. He quotes a Permian fan by saying, "I have to have something to look forward to, or life is just blah That football is just something that keeps me goin" (Bissinger 319). A fan was even quoted saying that football is like going to church for him. It may be hard for a person to comprehend this radical outlook on football, but through the visualization of these die heart Permian fans comments, and the strong emphasis of religion in this chapter. We can see that football really is a lifestyle for this town.

The sport of football can bring a huge morale boost to an entire city, as well as help with economical growth. Bissinger shows this well when he says, "a $5.6 million high school football stadium had been built in Odessa in 1982"(320). The United States was in a recession in the early 80s, which shows how confident they were that the money was well spend, and would pay off in the long run. It also is just another point in showing us how crazy these people are for football, and how the construction of  a new stadium during this recession can give people something to be happy about. A Permian booster member was quoted saying, "[The stadium] was something the community took a lot of pride in"(320).  This is proof that the people approved of the stadium being built. Bissinger also talks about the stimulation of businesses during football season, because of the high morale of the people and their willingness to spend. Football brings people out of their houses, and causes people want to socialize, which then leads to restaurants to gain revenue. Permian High School was funded almost completely by the football team. The stadium capacity of 19,000 had a lot of people paying for tickets, generating a massive amount of revenue for the school as well. Football did more than just please the kids playing it, it helped Odessa function.

This book is full of positive stories about West Texas football, but we can also assume from reading this chapter of Friday Night Lights, that Bissinger has a few problems with the way football is played in Texas. He goes on a minor rant about football injuries and how the Permian players push their body to extreme limits to play. He also throws in a few comments in about how the competitiveness of the game can get the best of the fans, and also discusses instances of when teachers made school easier for football athletes. He gives multiple examples of players in past seasons who have very serious injuries, but out of ignorance ignored the precautions because the pressure they felt to perform. He states, "Allen knew Phillip was something special in eighth grade when he had broken his arm during the first defensive series of a game. Rather than come out, he managed to set it in the defensive huddle and played both ways the entire first half" (Bissinger 321). This kid was raised this way to believe that this is normal. It was football over his own well being and as demented as it sounds, there is a silver lining to this that only the die heart football fanatics can understand. Bissinger explains a scenario where a man talks down on the Permian football program and then gets attacked verbally by hundreds of people. I am almost certain that there is probably not a football fan in Odessa that thought this was wrong, and that's just the way it is. Bissinger is quoted in saying, "Friday nights under a full moon that filled the black satin sky with a light as soft and delicate as the flickering of a candle"(Bissinger 319). This sentence is very symbolic to his stance on Texas football. His quote paints a picture of a dangerous and scary night sky, which is also an image of the game of football, but then uses the lights and moon as a way of showing how football brings communities together and can brighten lives for people. Playing the game puts your body at risk, but the happiness it brings to you and others outweighs the negatives! 

Whether you are a male, female, old, or young, life in West Texas will revolve around football. Bissinger explains throughout the chapter the urgency to attend every football event, and the way the players are portrayed as Hollywood stars. It sounds like an absolute place of paradise for a football fan. He does an excellent job in using real life symbols to help us picture the world he is describing. Bissinger uses the Permian field house to describe it as covered in mystique and tradition. He explains the paintings of the wall of hall of fame players as if the high school athletes were warriors from centuries ago. He also discusses the Watermelon feed which is the present setting in this chapter, as if it was a church service that could not be missed. To top it all off, he brings the Pepettes into the discussion which were the football players personal cheerleaders, to let us comprehend that football season infects more then just the players. These girls endure the whole season right next to these boys and are affected, but some of the outcomes just as much as the boys are. 

The whole town of Odessa's happiness during football season is reliant on the football team which once again brings us back to the point of football being bigger than life itself. There is not very many that can unite a large town like the bright lights on a Friday night, and spark similar interests among thousands of people like football does. It is unique in almost every way imaginable and I think that's why its popularity is spreading like a wildfire. Most of the things in this chapter might sound like ludicrous to most people, but to the people of Odessa it is all they know, and all they ever want to know!  

