Baltimore Observation Report

Based on where we’re from can have a lot to do with how we communicate with one another. Language is apart of our culture and way of life. We become accustomed to the way of life based on our surroundings and the language being spoken around us.

Abstract: High school football in the state of Texas has become out of control. The sport is no longer played for the sake of the school but rather has become a Friday night ritual to these small towns in Texas. The players are no longer just high school kids inter acting in school sports but have now become heroes to these small town communities. Communities simply no longer support their local high school team but rally in pride of their hometown rivalry against another team. School administrators and coaches no longer are teachers and mentors for the kids but are the equivalent to what in professional football are team owners and "real coaches". Parents have become agents and sacrifice their jobs and homes so that their child

Football remains the most popular sport in America and the ninth most popular sport in the world for a reason. Since its creation in 1869, football has played a fundamental part of American society. Every Sunday, my family along with millions of other Americans turn the television to CBS, NBC or FOX to watch their favorite football team go to battle. My family and I bleed burgundy and gold and root for the home team the Washington Redskins. Americans including myself display great intensity and passion for the game of football and the result of the game often changes my attitude for the better or worse. Watching the game on television may come as exhilarating and entertaining, but playing the game creates the best times. Overall football has made a severe impact on many people’s lives. Football teaches unique lessons in a hands on manner which helps athletes like myself sustain a much more adventurous life. Football has made an immeasurably positive influence upon my life, but the sport has its dangers. Football changes lives.

In Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger uses powerful examples of the harms, dangers, and unethical behavior in football in order to evoke an emotional response from his readers and change their opinions about high school sports, specifically football. Bissinger explores the obsession of the Texas town of Odessa with football, showing the side effects of this culture. In America, the benefits of high school sports are heavily touted, but the dangers are often not discussed. Bissinger offers a counter argument in this often one sided debate in order to challenge the domination of sports in high school environments. By appealing to the emotions of his readers, Bissinger is able to make an effective argument against the influence and excessive love of high school sports in America.

“‘Athletics last for such a short period of time. It ends for people. But while it lasts, it creates this make-believe world where normal rules don’t apply. We build this false atmosphere. When it’s over and the harsh reality sets in, that’s the real joke we play on people’” (Bissinger xiv). “Friday Night Lights” shows the darker side of high school football. Players are taught to play games to win, and thats all that matters. Football players are put under a tremendous amount of pressure, almost enough to be considered unfair. Even though football is a “team sport”, pressure on individual players is unnecessary. Some players have the burden of the team, the city, their family, and their future, resting on their shoulders. These players

Within sports, pressure is always there; you have to learn to deal with it. H. G. Bissinger’s book, Friday Night Lights, hones in on the football team the Permian Panthers of Odessa. Through this focus on the team, one can see how football is an integral part of the town thriving, maintaining its hopes and dreams. Despite the racial and social divide within the community, those Friday night games become a place where dreams may be made possible. In this way, sports, specifically football, not only have an impact on the players but the community as well.

The town portrayed in this literary work is introduced as a quintessential small American town that is lush and thriving. Jackson provides a picturesque summer day in which “flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Jackson 1). Yet, behind this façade of tranquility was a town with earth drenched in the blood of its own townsfolk. Citizens that were sacrificed for the benefit of the small township. The lottery is a brutal ritual, yet it is upheld as a couth tradition by the town’s elders.

H.G. Bissinger’s Friday Night Lights occurs in Odessa, Texas where Permian football remains the diversion through which the locals are able to live vicariously through, leading to the local’s attitudes and personal lives relying largely on the success of the team. This is evident when looking at Jim Lewallen, L.V. Miles, and Charlie Billingsley.

Sustaining the ambitions of not only themselves but the alumni and town of Odessa, Texas is a lot to ask from a young adult. That’s exactly what Permian football provides to the people of Odessa, where the post economic boom of the oil business has left the town in a racially tense, economic crisis. The lights on Permian High School’s football field are the only sanctuary for the west Texas town. Socially and racially divided, Odessa’s mass dependence on high school football constructs glorified expectations for the football team to temporarily disguise the disappointments that come with living in a town tagged as the “murder capital” of

Friday night, under the fluorescent lights glistening off the white shinning helmets with a large black letter P on both sides. The smell of popcorn and hotdogs fill the air. The screams of twenty thousand fans echo throughout the arena. That 's more than the number of fans at some NBA games. Football is more than a game to the people of this town. It 's a way of life, it 's serves as a way out for many in the town, and it helps forget the horrible economic struggles the town faces. Football for this town created a false atmosphere, and became an addiction to this town. Football becoming an addiction has positives and many negatives. "Friday Night Lights," by H. G. Bissinger, tells the story of the small town of Odessa, Texas, and how football has become an addiction and taken over the lives of everyone in the town.

We started walking towards the field before the game starts so we can check out what's there and check out the stadium,the vendors, and the practice fields. There was a lot of people there that were tailgating and dressed up all crazy. There was a few houses with a patio set on the roof and a flag rolled down the side and strobe lights that were the packers symbol. There was a restaurant that was made by Brett Favre, the food was really good and it was really busy but they did’nt take long to make our food.

My love for Camden football began at a young age, from sitting with my parents at every game, to the monumental moment of finally being able to sit with my friends in the middle school section. Then the years of dreams of being able to dit in the rowdy student section came true during the High School years. Camden football was truly a religion growing up, but I wouldn 't have wanted to ask off work for anything else. The memories made at the game will something I will forever cherish, once a wildcat always a wildcat.

The mills were closing down because the supply for steel had greatly decreased. The town’s lack of industrialization caused other businesses to relocate, so the steel workers were not left with many options. Also, during this time period, it was not very common for women to have a full time job: the steel families really had no option but to leave, but for some that was impossible. I struggle with wrapping my mind around the trouble and heartache these families faced in hopes that Youngstown would find a way out. Knowing very little about Youngstown, I felt that the authors did a nice job revealing information on the town and what it had been through. The struggle the families and community faced was saddening, but it was really interesting to see how they worked together in hopes to restore the town.

In Kansas City, a teenager, Sarah, had a family with many problems. She lived in a house “with no heat. No water. No lights. She read by flashlight” (Adler 1), until her grandfather took Sarah and her brother in.

Which most times you see all sides of their emotions and personalities at a football game because the setting around can change in seconds. I took a walk around the stadium and observed the atmosphere that the fans made which was a very excited vibe that was making it a great atmosphere for a good night of football on a nice friday night for the first game of the season. There was a lot of smiling faces and energetic kids. Also I was surprised with all of the communicating before the game. I thought there was more talking than usual, so that brought me to believe that they were confident that we were going to win the game but anxiously waiting for it to start.Some people were having conversations about expecting a baby while others were talking about when the corn and beans will be ready to harvest. The kids were playing with their friends and running around like chickens with their head cut off while playing some game by the concession stands. Where hungry and anxious people were waiting in long lines like at a McDonald's drive-thru to order their food or drinks and get to their seats before the intense and exciting first Fairbury home game started. It must of be so hard to wait in those lines, there was a amazing aroma coming from the concession stands as people waited. You could just smell the fresh juicy Grandpa D’s Hotdogs and the freshly popped buttery popcorn. I bet the new popcorn kernels being popped just made them a little bit more ready for their turn to order what they desire. As I was standing there I could see people walking in and looking up above with a smile on their face. He said to me “I like the new add on as you walk in.” which says Home of the Jeffs. He said “it just makes me feel like I am sitting at home because of when I used to play under the friday night lights as a Fairbury Jeff.” The saying just pumps people up before they even walk in