Friday Essay

Atkins 1 Allen C. Atkins Professor Bennett Eng. Composition 17 February 2012

“Friday Night Lights” by: H. G. Bissinger

A city of a horrid past, built upon meadows and farmland, Odessa stands to be one of the worst cites with in the country. With only one thing to make this city's only known legacy stand, the Permian Panthers of Odessa , a high school football team, builds the city's ego and confidence. This sport isn't just a sport to the citizens of Odessa, but a lifestyle that they are accustomed to. Taken to heart, football in this city appears to be the nucleus of Odessa, and also is seen as the “American dream” in there eyes. From a previous state championship in 1946, Odessa high school sparked the start of a new city, with an actual accomplishment that they still take to heart. In this city, football is the word around town, from the multi-million stadium, to the pressure of young men being influenced to play, Panthers football remain the heart of Odessa, and without it, they are no more. It is more historical and enduring than anything Odessa, the town could even proclaim. For the most part we could state that the success of this championship, it establish an official tradition which is seen as the American dream. Odessa was a little city settled in the 1880's by a group of men from Zanesville, Ohio, whose intentions were to create a land that would simply attract people of interest. At the time, the land was very limited to supplies such as soil, water, and livestock. With such little attractions and a lack of resources, the city went downhill. Along with these problems, droughts occurred wiping out the rest of

Atkins 2 whatever resources they had. These problems destroyed the dreams of the group of men. As well as resources were a lack, the city sat upon the Permian Basin, which is where 20 percent of the countries domestic oil and gas was produced. Knowing this, the city was inundated with men known as Boomers, because the city's fortunes...