A quarterback named Street. Another named McCoy. Someone named Landry. Sound like Texas football yet? These subliminal messages, plus a realer-than-you think small-town setting, make Friday Night Lights a very believable (and excellent) prime-time sports soap opera.

(Editor’s Note: FYI…follow this link to watch Friday Night Lights episodes free online. Follow this one if you are interested in purchasing Friday Night Lights DVDs or the book.)

NBC’s hit show, filmed in Austin, is based on the best-selling book by the same name, written by H.G. Bissinger in 1990. The book was a social commentary on high school football in West Texas. The culture turned 16, 17, and 18-year-olds into untouchable community icons. The book revealed the sheer magnitude of a high school football game in Texas, and with it, the sheer pressure of carrying the hopes and dreams of an entire town.

While painting a glamorous picture of Friday night glory in front of 10,000 fans, the book was simultaneously very critical of the way Odessa placed these young men on such a high pedestal. While students who excelled in the arts, music, or academia were nobodies, the star football players were hailed as homecoming kings. It may happen everywhere in America, but in West Texas it happens to the extreme. Bissinger wrote of football players coming drunk to class, extreme racism, and misplaced priorities. The book illustrates the dark side of such a football utopia.

NBC’s Show does a fantastic job capturing that mood. The show’s creators said, okay, what if we create a high school just like Odessa’s Permian High, and base the characters on the book as well? The storylines can be endless…and juicy. The TV show blends the right amount of football with the pressurized side dramas that go on behind the scenes. It strikes that balance in a very real way, giving us believable stories and loveable characters.

Unlike the forgettable 2004 movie Friday Night Lights, also based on the book, NBC’s weekly show makes this formula work. The storylines and conflicts the characters face mirror what really happened to the 1988 Permian Panthers that Bissinger wrote about.

The fictional Dillon Panthers (same mascot as Permian) are all that matter in this small Texas town. There’s a new coach, Eric Taylor, who faces weekly pressure of getting fired if he loses on Friday nights. After losses, real-life Permian Panthers coach Gary Gaines would find FOR SALE signs on his front lawn. That scene has been repeated in the show. Taylor, like Gaines, has to deal with crazy parents, college recruiters, and larger-than-life boosters and expectations.

Dillon’s fullback Tim Riggins is a fan favorite. He’s the hard-hitting punk who drinks his way through high school and gets all the girls and pretty much lives in a fantasy world. Riggins, besides being a perfect name for a fullback (think NFL legend John Riggins), is the poster child for Bissinger’s book. Riggins character is based on Don Billingsley, who Bissinger wrote about in 1990. The show captured this character perfectly.

Another main character in the book is Boobie Miles, the fast-talking, football-is-everything star running back. The real life Miles was academically challenged, and was constantly made fun of by his coaches. One episode on the show dealt with an assistant coach making similar racist remarks about running back Smash Williams.

For the real-life Boobie Miles, a knee injury in the preseason took away his senior year, and with it, college scholarship offers. The writers on the show gave Smash the same fate, but they made Smash far more likeable and resilient. Unlike the real-life Miles, the fictional Williams recovered from his knee injury and eventually went on to play college football.

In the TV show, QB Matt Saracen of Dillon High is the nice kid, who somehow has the starting QB job and faces enormous pressure both at home and at school. This is the real-life Mike Winchell, a levelheaded leader with unspectacular, but effective, quarterback play. A guy you love to root for, Matt Saracen is Mike Winchell, dead-on.

The storylines in the show certainly vary from what happened to the real-life Panthers, but the characters remain true to their real-life counter parts.

Obviously the show’s creators had to round out the script with more characters, and they laid on the symbolism. There’s injured QB Jason Street, whose character’s name brings to mind legendary UT QB James Street. Matt Saracen’s best friend and teammate is named “Landry” after Dallas Cowboys coaching legend Tom Landry.

Furthermore, the hot new freshman QB is named J.D. McCoy. Current UT star QB Colt McCoy anyone? Did I mention that the fictional J.D. McCoy’s personal position coach is Wade Aikman? The name Aikman certainly reminds me of tight spirals.

The list goes on. The players hang out at the “Alamo Freeze” which is Dillon’s fictional equivalent of a Dairy Queen. The strip club “The Landing Strip” really does exist (it’s by the airport in Austin, Texas). Texas Football Magazine makes several appearances in the show. That magazine is a very real thing, and it’s referred to as “The Bible” all over the state.

And only in Texas would a small town’s football team warrant constant news coverage from multiple local stations. In one recent episode they even played a game on national television, something that actually happens. Of course, there was no shortage of NBC logos placed on the TV truck.

As a guy from Texas, I love seeing the realistic touches. Hottie Tyra Collete recently was stuck at a motel near “Central and LBJ,” two main highways in the Dallas area. Even the stickers on the car windshields are real Texas stickers.

Critics of the show will say there’s too much drama, not enough football. I disagree. The drama these characters face is realistic and touching, and it all leads up to Friday Nights. The obstacles these characters face is what makes us root for them when the football does come around.

So Riggins will keep drinking and scoring, Coach Taylor will keep stressing and winning, and Saracen will keep his head low and hope for the best. These people exist in real life all over America, and their fictional counterparts come to life every Friday night on NBC.

Scott Reister is a featured contributor to Midwest Sports Fans. He is a Sports Anchor for the NBC affiliate in the Tri-Cities and Spokane, WA. To learn more about Scott, visit the Scott Reister bio page on Midwest Sports Fans or check out the Scott Reister bio page on Midwest Sports Fans or check out the Scott Reister bio page on Midwest Sports Fans or check out the Scott Reister bio page on Midwest Sports Fans or check out the Local Sports page on KNDU.com.

To contact Scott: sreister@hotmail.com