Friday Night Lights By Lewis Lapham

In Rick Bragg’s article, “Down Here,” he portrays the importance of football in the South through his use of the rhetoric triangle. He establishes ethos through his stories of growing up in the South and giving various examples of Southerners that held football in such a bright light. He gives a logical reason for why the South is so dominant in the sport, establishing logos. Finally, Bragg uses the hardships of the South to create an overwhelming sense of pathos. Bragg is able to combine all three of these elements, ethos, logos, and pathos, to create a story that draws in the readers attention and has them hanging on to every word.

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

In Jeffrey Schranks’ short story, “Sport and the American Dream”, he is trying to show us that the sport America watches and plays, portrays America’s character as a nation. Since America goes from baseball to football we it shows us that we are becoming more violent. his comparisons of sports and war is says best how America changes as a country over the years. Back when baseball was Americas’ pastime to being a totally football country. When we were a baseball country, Americans were happier, not many cared about wars or violence just the enjoyment they got from watching the games with friends or family at the ballpark. It didn’t matter that the sport wasn’t moving at a fast pace or so competitive. Football is the

     Is High School football a sport, or is it more than that to some people? Recent newspaper headlines include such items as coaches abusing student athletes; fathers of athletes murdering coaches, and mother’s disabilitating cheerleading candidates to assure their daughters make the cheerleading team. In Odessa, Texas high school football is a major contributor to the society of a small town in Texas society. Every Friday night, 50,000 people fill the stadium to see high school students put their lives on the line to win a football game. H. G. Bissinger writes a novel called Friday Night Lights, about a year in 1988 where High School players prepare and play on the High School team, and what an impact they have

“Football became my ticket to a college scholarship which, in western Pennsylvania during the early ‘sixties, meant a career instead of getting stuck in the steel-mills” (4). Football is the number one

In Hank Hill's short essay What in the Name of High School Football? He implies that some High schools focus too much on each of their athletic accomplishments and not enough on the visual and performing arts. Hill supports this claim with his word choice and diction. Hills purpose is to point out the unfair and lopsided views of society when it comes to extracurricular activities. Hill takes on an almost upset tone in order to expose the major problem that continues to affect society today. Based on Hills tone word choice and topic this piece seems to be directed at the school administrators and high school students.

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.

Under the lights by Abbie Glines. There are three teens that grew up together in a southern small town. Willa’s mom had her when she was a teenager. Willa had gotten into some trouble at a young age and had to stay with her Nonna. Willa’s two best friends were Gunner and Brady. Willa has made some bad choices in her past life which made her go down the wrong path in life. Brady’s a high school quarter back now and with the choices Willa has made Brady sees Willa as a different person. Gunner is also a football star in high school. Gunner is living a good rich life the only matter though he cares about himself only, except for Willa. He understands the person she has grown into over her time. As they were known to be child hood friends secrets start to come out and the truth may be the reason of them losing each other.

“‘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

Is High School football a sport, or is it more than that to some people? I’ve learned that the book is more sociological, which means that it focused on our human society of racial issues and also emphasizes the economy and the divide between the wealthy residents of one city versus the more working-class denizens of another are all subjects that are given an in-depth examination. This is more of the main or focal point of the whole book and in not so much in the movie. Although Bissinger's story is a true-life recounting of the 1988 football season of the Permian High School team, it reads like fiction and even though I believe his book is superior, the theatrical adaptation still stands apart as one of the great

Sports, especially football, are a major part of the universities in the United States. Many times they are valued over education. Many college athletes end up getting a poor education, because they tend to look at how the universities sports teams are doing rather than the level of education they will be getting. Steven Salzburg notices this problem and writes about it in his article “Get Football Out of Our Universities.” He acknowledges the fact that we have prioritized a game used to entertain people over the education of Americans and that this trend has to come to an end. According to him, football needs to be removed from the university system in order to avoid becoming “the big, dumb jock on the world stage” (1). Salzburg uses a combination of ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos in an unsuccessful effort to persuade universities and avid football fans that the interest in football is jeopardizing our advances in science, technology, engineering, and math.

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

The role of modern sport in American life is immense. While various forms of entertainment, and consumption such as music, art and film compete for an audience, sport is often recognized on a different level, commanding the attention of people across all ages, genders and ethnicities through its enchanting qualities. From an early age, many Americans are socialized through sports, learning to interact, befriend others and develop community. In some cases, fans can are so compelled by sport that they can recite statistics and decade-old trivia, while unaware of their own parents’ birthdays. Though in general, at some point in life, many have experienced an impassioned or emotive feeling through sport, whether rooting for an underdog,

As the students on the football field are working on passes and touchdowns, they are wearing tattered old jerseys. With their worndown helmets, the coach is complaining about the bad conditions the players are going through. Yet, the school would not recognize the remarks and decides to keep on going. The article, “Yes! It’s Time to Scale Back,” by Amanda Ripley, shares the idea that schools should not have sports teams. On the contrary, “No! Sports Are More Important Than Ever,” by Tim O'Shei explains that school sports should continue and even recommended to attend to. Even though school sports can be beneficial to students; genuinely, schools sports needs to take a step back for the better.

Visit any rural small town in America on a Friday night in the fall and you will find a few hundred to several thousand fans gathered around a football field to cheer on their hometown team. By 7:00 pm the scene is the same anywhere you go. Parking lots, filled to capacity, spill over to the roadsides and barrow pits. The smell of grilled burgers and popcorn floats from the concessions stand over the field and bleachers. Proud fathers size up the opponent as they share rumors or news from the past week. Nervous mothers bundle up their children in coats and blankets. Young boys start their own pick-up games on any grassy makeshift field that can be found. Young girls huddle in groups to talk about boys. Cheerleaders dressed in school colors