Show Friday night lights Christine Marsh Sports Editor N the summer of 1988 I IN Philadelphia Inquirer reporter HG Bissinger in search of a good story moved his family to the hot oil- oil busted town of Odessa Texas for a year The result was a controversial book entitled Friday Night Lights Lights Lights-A A Town a Team and a Dream in which the author takes a hard look at Texas' Texas favorite high school sport sport football If th the author set out to find a small depressed town held tog together ther by high school football he went to the right place Since Odessa's s Permian High School I opened its P. P doors floors s sin in 1965 th the the i football teams nicknamed Mojo have won five state cb championships I reached the season post-season playoffs 18 of 31 seasons and comp complied compiled r Y an an over all i ali rec record rd of f 60 9 What Bissinger found on the other hand is that p public bl c education d appe appear t tobe tobe to tobe be a at Permian In fact the Ule average v rage SAT scores have dropped dropp nine percent between 1975 and 1989 During the 1988 school year the Permian n English department department department depart depart- ment had ap a Budget of Q O w h e e easi a Sit the h a athletic t h t ic departments department's budget t totalled in including three ree chart chartered rep Ij jet tr trips ps to Mojo football gant games s. s I Ir j r I Entering Ep ering his senior season at Permian Permian runni running g back Boobie Mills Miles Mil s' s schedule included included included in in- freshman algebra sophomore biology and a language course f or i stu students dents at least Je Js I two yea years s b behind behind be be- hind ith ti ir iri grade level in reading and writing Some dome believed that this highly recruited athlete could b bethe the next Early Earl i C Campbell e injured d a 1 k ee ini in a s' s scrim scrim- rim rim- mage mon months hs later Mile Miles had be om i a a. a forgotten bench warmer and quit the team Miles who thought he might win the Heisman must begin again at a junior col col- col- col lege But the saddest part of the report is the story of Jerrod Jerrod Jerrod Jer- Jer rod McDougal a Permian tackle who says Theres nineteen thousand fans in the stands and they cant can't do what you are doing They're all cheering for one thing thing- they're cheering for you Man that's a high no drug or booze or woman can give you Now that he has graduated McDougal jus jusa hangs around the Mojo sidelines I want to play football football football foot foot- ball bad There isn't a day that I dont don't think about it he concludes In a recent segment on Sixty Minutes citizens of Odessa Odes Odes- sa voiced their opposition to the controversial book which how now I sits I Inow high on the best bestseller bestseller bestseller seller list The angered people cried out about the deception the a author thor created Although none of them denied the truth of the book they felt deceived because that was not th the originally stated intent of the author During his stay in Odessa Bissinger gained the confidence of the entire town M Many ny locals even invited him into their homes for coffee or even dinner to give the theauthor theauthor theauthor author an inside look at the people of Odessa Bissinger's plans to return to Odessa for promotions and autographs were abruptly cancelled because because be be- cause ause of numerous death threat threat calls to local book bookstores bookstores bookstores stores at which he was to ap ap- ap- ap pear Ac According to Texas Monthly Month Month- ly Magazine writer Jan Reid the lithe book captures the ul ulI ultimate ultimate ul- ul I I cruelty of the Texas high school football game it itI makes I tortured has-beens has of eighteen year eighteen I year year olds |