"You get ready for me. I'll be there the first day of practice, 2014. Remember the name, Coach. Miles Shepherd."
So says the little boy who approaches Eric and Smash. A Smash in the making.
Football as we've talked about it in the class has been primarily a negative thing. It's been corrupted by the adults in the world of the book, the film, and even the series. It is brutal. Yet it also something that is essential to lives and is even beautiful in all the texts. "What would life without football be like? He knew he would be lost, just like his senior friends before him had been lost. He would feel as if it was no longer possible to keep balance anymore, as hopeless as if he was trying to ride a seesaw by himself" (249). This is Jerrod McDougal in the book, and if there is something unhealthy in this—it's just football—it's also something that is powerful; it's a passion that makes kids like himself ignore pain, live with the hardships and pressure that the game brings. As Eric tells Smash in today's episode:
"That's not what I want you to to. That's not what football's about. You wanna fly solo, you go run track. You know sometimes we take this so serious we lose track of exactly why it is we love this damn game so much. Why it is we play this game. I'm guilty of that."
And with that, the little children approach, and Coach and Smash play football with them. At the end of the episode we laughed as we listened to Smash's repeated thanks to God for, basically, letting him play football again. Not necessarily for the glory of it, not necessarily for the chance to win State, but to just be able to play the game he loves so much again. So:
1. Why do these characters love football so much? We know the obvious reasons—pride, community, winning, all the bigger, overarching reasons we've talked about in class. Put those reasons aside for now. Think of how the game brings together four totally different boys—Smash, Street, Riggins, Saracan. All for their love of football. So what is it about football that makes them—and the boys in the book—put up with all the crap that goes with it?
2. In Chapter 11 of Bissinger's book, "Sisters," we get a glimpse of what the oil boom and bust did to Midland and Odessa. What jumped out at you about what we see here? There's a lot here, so you don't have to repeat what's been said before.
3. The series takes place in the present, that is 2006. The boom and bust Bissinger describes is long gone. But this is not a world, a town, all that unlike what we see in Odessa. What does the series tell us, granting that it works as a mirror of real life Texas at the time, about the economic realities of small town Texas, 2006? How specifically do we see this reality? Again: don't just repeat what comes before your entry.
4. Finally: what scene or moment jumped at you, stayed with you, from today's episode? And why?
1. I think the boys put up with the crap of football for the same reason I play sports. To have the ability for that one or two moments to become someone else. To lose yourself on the field and know that all that matters is what is on the field. To be able to feel invincible. I think the rawness and instinctual nature of football attracts these boys. For practices they can let go. They can let their emotions out while on the field or totally block them out and focus on solely the game of football. Even though we laugh at Smash as he walks around and talks about himself in the third person, on the football field he truly is the Smash. He can forget about everything and focus on getting a touchdown. At the end of the day I think the boys enjoy the sheer athleticism required to play the game.
ReplyDelete2. I think what stood out to me most was the sheer wealth that oil boom created and then how quickly it all disappeared. “Several years later federal judge Lucius Bunton compared the First National Back to the Titantic… It was a wonderful analogy, not only for the bank but for all of Midland” (225). I think this analogy is so perfect to describe Midland and the oil. Everyone thought it was all so flawless and great but then everything shattered in one moment. I also think the lack of judgment in decision by the people and the bank is shocking. Aaron Giebel is the example given, and he built a 2.4 million dollar house he never even got to live in. “The bank was dying, but still the people of Midland, and even Odessa, refused to believe it. There was an air of unreality to it al, as if the situation would somehow, someway, magically fix itself” (224).
3. I think the series tells us the economy of a small town is far from successful. I think the series shows us this with Matt’s dad and Tyra’s mom. Neither one of them can get a job without the help of Buddy Garity. There are no jobs in Dillon except for the ones the rich man is handing out. You can’t get a job unless you have an in with the rich man. The series also shows that the range of wealth in small town Texas is enormous. You have Buddy Garity on one hand with a big house and the booming car dealership and Matt Saracen and Smash on the other hand or are working as hard as they can to make ends meet. There is no real in between in small town Texas. You either have it or you don’t.
4. The scene that has stayed with me today (this may seem odd) was the scene of Matt going to calendar photo shoot. It bothered me how he can’t seem to stand up for himself in social football situations. Those girls weren’t overpowering him. It would not have been hard for him to push them off and say he was leaving. It seems like he really likes Julie, but I was really annoyed with him during this scene that he didn’t stop himself from getting in the hot tub.
The feeling of dauntlessness that envelops them whenever they play football is, to me, the sole reason for why they are so dedicated to it, despite the faults that come with it. We said in class today that the characters are always "in the moment," and this is implemented in anything involving football. In the hours spent practicing and playing games, these boys can remove themselves from the vulnerabilities they face away from the field. They can dismiss the fact that most of their lives have slim outcomes of success. They can remove their thoughts from the daunting reminders of their pasts. They can focus on football, and football alone. It simply serves as a getaway for the boys, almost like their haven in which they have the ability to slip into whenever they please.
ReplyDeleteThe carelessness of the Midland businessmen struck me the most out of this chapter. Aaron Giebel perfectly epitomizes this, when he paid "$17.5 million for the seven-thousand-acre ranch in El Indo with the palm trees that had been flow in and the private runway and the breathtaking view of Mexico when he used it largely for entertaining and hunting." Granted, this is only one person from Midland, but it's a general consensus that a large portion of its residents spent money as frantically as Giebel did. Wealth, in the perspective of those from Midland, is not something that is sustained. It is a source of utter indulgence that should be taken advantage of, despite its imminent repercussions. I found myself physically shaking my head when I read the list of his expenditures, merely because of his sheer lack of self-discipline.
Dillon's economy is in a rut, plain and simple. Reflecting on what we discussed today, the opening sequence alone provides us with what Dillon has to offer: the vastness of the city, the poverty-stricken houses, Twister's. It's not a booming, industrial place. It is, as we have established, a small town that has seemingly been disregarded by the government, and has had to fend for itself, really. The only sign of wealth that we see is Buddy Garrity, which includes his business, his home, and the mere idea that he expects for his wealth to continue throughout his lifetime. He doesn't seem to consider the possibility that he could lose everything he has worked for - again, he remains in that "present moment" instead of setting up a backup lifestyle.
I was curious about why Tim's dad was so reluctant to going back to Odessa for simply one game. He said to him, "...but me going to Dillon, that's a whole different thing," and that line has left me wondering what about Dillon pushed him away? What is keeping him from going there for only one night?
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ReplyDeleteI believe there are numerous potentially positive aspects of football that draw a sizable portion of players to the game. Embodying the persona of a Dillon football player in addition to playing team allows the players to become the benefactors of nearly unfathomable veneration and idolization with Dillon. Although this particular aspect of the Dillon football culture is undoubtedly enticing to the entirety of the football team, some individuals, such as Smash, bluntly state that they play football not only out of their love and admiration for the game, but additionally for the opportunity to be a star, and possibly implicitly to be an individual that exists beyond Coach Taylor’s painstakingly maintained homogeneous unit, as football (somewhat ironically) grants many of these individuals their sole opportunity in life to amass to anything more than an anonymous Dillon Panther.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the chapter Odessa displayed its unsustainable and insecure nature that renders it an anomaly within the US. In my opinion, the most striking aspect of the reading was the extravagantly indulgent and often whimsical spending that the community essentially unitarily partook in during the oil boom. Perhaps exemplifying Odessa’s fervent desire to garner recognition and superiority, the alarming rate at which several individual decimated their own meticulously constructed empires gave off an air of desperation to amount to more than the murder capital of the United States.
From my perspective the series illustrates the numerous perpetual cycles that exist within isolated towns that possess steadfast and deeply rooted moral principles and customs, thus yielding a town strikingly similar to the Odessa or Dillon of the 1980’s. The lack of outside influence is overt: Odessa reluctantly agreed to integrate schools in the early 1980s, nearly 30 years after segregation’s illegality was established, and segregation’s unspoken persistence within Odessa has allowed for the continued existence of two polarized communities separated by glaring disparity and racial divide. Due to the lack of influence from any entity foreign to Odessa, few individuals have openly sought change for principles that although possesses a minimal amount of relevance to the world outside, are so deeply rooted by traditions whose moral principles are egregiously skewed from the perception of the US as a whole that the debilitating cycles of poverty and racial divide within Odessa are allowed to perpetuate.
I am incredibly curious about Tim’s father’s reluctance to return to Dillon, predominantly the reason for his apparent ostracism amongst the community in Dillon. While he somewhat ambiguously stated that he had done some things he wasn’t quite proud of, the amount of disdain and distrust Tim, and more so Billy, possess for their father makes me believe whatever actions he took to warrant his ostracism were far more malicious than I originally thought.
The reason the boys play football, in my opinion, is to get away from their home lives. Smash, Riggins, and Saracen all have difficult family and home situations and they all need something to use to get away from those problems. Football fills in the blank for them. Smash lost his father, and football is what his father believed he could do. Smash repeatedly says he will be good and make it to the pros for his family, but also for himself to get away from his mother and sisters. Riggins lives alone with his brother, and barely sees his dad. Riggins is also a borderline alcoholic and football gives him joy and takes him away from the home life. Saracen stays at home to take care of his grandmother with dementia, so football is his vacation. The only player who is confusing is Jason Street. We don't know too much about Street's life before he was injured, other than he was a star. But we didn't know what was happening at home in order to pinpoint why football was his get-a-way.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thing that jumped at me about this chapter is that Odessa and Midland are/were two drastically different towns. Midland was wealthy, Odessa was poor. Odessa was crowned the title of "Murder Capital USA", a title no city or town would like to have put upon them. It isn't unusual that football puts the icing on the cake for the hatred between the two towns, but it is unbelievable how different in class they are. They are both out of West Texas in the same oil fields but the two towns decide to hate each other in any way possible.
The series tells us that, economically, Dillon is far from improvement. In the quick cutscenes between stories or even in the intro, you can tell by the terrain that all Dillon is football and oil. We've talked about it in class before, that the high class restaurant is Applebee's. There is no Fogo de Chao in Dillon, if there was, we wouldn't be seeing the realities of "high-class Applebee's" that also relates to that all that Dillon has is football pretty much.
The scene that stood out for me was when Matt was called up during dinner like he was a big star. Right before our eyes, Matt Saracen has gone from back-up QB who is just an innocent kid who barely knows the plays, to one of the biggest stars in town. QB 1 is a leader, which Saracen is slowly growing in to. I think unexpectedly Saracen has gotten to be a huge star in Dillon, being called up for radio interviews during dinner. This also stuck with me because of Julie's reaction. She never wanted to date a football player, and people told her that she shouldn't too. Her reaction always: "He's not a football player, he's Matt," But before eyes he has gone from Matt to QB 1 very quickly.
I think that these kids play football to escape from their hectic lives. They use it as a release where they can let go of all the pressure and obligations that goes along with being a Permian Panther. I think that the player’s relationship with football is very similar to Coach Taylor’s relationship with football. Both the coach and the players seem to have more to lose then they could possibly win in playing football. Sure they may do it for the glory but there is definitely something more that allows them to go through the pressure and insanity of football. After all, playing Permian football is a job, just as much as coaching: they are expected to be pros, not kids. They are supposed to be flawless and carry the town to state. But I think that even with all these negative aspects, it all boils down to the enjoyment of the game itself as can be seen in the scene where Smash and Coach Taylor are playing football with the kids. They are not playing with them for fame or to win, they are simply playing because they enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most surprising things to me about the chapter “Sisters” was how many people’s lives went from private jets and spontaneous trips to Paris to barely even being able to pay their rent in an instant: “And then it had ended. Just like that. Not with a warning, not in a way so that those who got caught had only themselves to blame. One day the lights were on; the next day they were off.” (222) It seemed incredulous that there was almost no warning before the oil industry crashed and these oil investors who thought their entire lives were taken care of were left completely broke with no instruction on how to build themselves back up. For example, Aaron Giebel was in the process of building an extravagant house when the price of oil increased and he wasn’t even able to move in once it was completed.
I think that we see a definite class division in Odessa. There are people like the Garritys who have no financial worries and then there are the others: Billingsley, Saracen, Smash, who struggle more. I think also the fact that the football players depend solely on scholarships to go to college shows that small town Texas’s financial struggles are not over. I also think that race plays a very big part in the economic divide. Smash lives in a small compound and while we are not sure if it is the “Southside” like the book depicts, it is clear that there are mostly minorities who live with him. There are no big wealthy African-American or Latino families that we know of, it’s solely white people making up the upper class. I also think that there have been some references, in Tyra’s case, to parents or other family members who have been affected by oil and who’s impact still has not faded even after 20 years.
The moment that stayed with me the most was right after Smash found out he was playing in the game on Friday. Usually it is the shocking and emotional scene that captures my attention but today it was the intense, child-like joy that Smash exuded. It was clear that he was just genuinely happy that all his hard work had payed off and that God and his coach had given him a second chance. This can also be seen before the game when Smash is leading the prayer. It is clear that Smash is truly thankful for all he has received and is genuinely sorry for all the mistakes he has made in the past. While his mistake was stupid and threatening to his future, it is clear that he appreciates the game even more and will stop at nothing to regain his strength and the coach’s trust again.
I think the main reason these players love football is for the opportunity to take release their anger on the field. Each player gets to play a very physical game, and put aside all the negatives of their lives behind them and just hit somebody. They don’t have to think about their future or their family, and just get to be a totally different angry person. Saracen releases the anger from his father not being there and having to take care of himself and his grandmother. Smash releases his anger from the pressure of going pro and providing for his family. Jason releases the anger from everybody’s expectations of him being the best quarterback in Texas. Riggins is just an angry person and releases all the anger.
ReplyDeleteWhat jumped out to me was the contrast between Odessa and Midland. One in every 45 people in Midland was a millionaire. There were four of the world’s 400 richest people living there. And next door in Odessa, although people were successful because of the boom, it wasn’t close to the wealth in Midland. Another thing that stuck out was the difference between the wealth in Midland then and the wealth in Midland now. There was one of the country’s leading Rolls Royce dealerships in a town where in 2010 the average income was under 30,000.
In small town Texas, people are poor and the economy isn’t growing. There aren’t any jobs around unless you know Buddy Garrity. Most people aren’t too well off, and it’s normal to be poor. People are satisfied with being able to pay the bills and have food. Something that isn’t realistic is how the kids always eat out at the burger restaurant. People who don’t have lots of money should be eating Ramen noodles.
The scene that stood out to me was when Matt and Julie were in the library. Matt clearly doesn’t find Julie as important as the attention and fame of being the starting quarterback, and Julie is putting up with it. This is because she is used to it from her father. Eric puts football in front of her, and so does Matt.
The four boys Smash, Street, Riggins and Saracan are very different from one another. The characters in the book who are on the football team are very different from one and other. But in many ways, they are all so similar. They are similar through their love of football, of course, but also through the reason they love football so much. Football offers new opportunities to each of the boys, a new life. It is an escape from the lives they lead now, and offers more choices for their future. For some, such as Smash and Boobie, football offers a future playing in college and possibly to go on to the Pros. For others, like Saracan and Tim, it is a way to escape their difficult lives at home, to be someone else, to be a star. But for all of them, football is something to live and work for, motivation in a place that simply requires motivation. And we see that football is not only an escape for the players, but the fans and town as well. It is something else for everyone to focus on, something that is not their regular lives that they can focus on together.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really noticed, but was not surprised by, in this chapter of the book was how foolish and carefree everyone was with their income. Both Midland and Odessa, no matter how many millionaires there are, strike me as poverty-stricken places. That seems to be the mindset everywhere despite the money made from the oil boom. And when the oil boom hit, these people of Midland and Odessa had so much money that it was strange to them. Having gobs of money was new to them, and they didn't know what to do with themselves or the money. This could be used as a valid excuse as to why they foolishly spent it all, but it's still surprising that they were so quick to spend, and so blind to not see how fragile their success was. Whatever the reason for their big spending, they do spend a significant amount, which becomes a huge problem when the oil bust occurs. No one expects it, and it hits the economy hard in Odessa and Midland. But personally, I feel that they should have been more prepared, knowing very well that the oil will not always come as it had been.
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ReplyDeleteI think that the economic realities of small town Texas in 2006 are shown through the series in a number of ways. For one, there is a lot more emphasis on education in this day and age, more so than in Odessa, 1988. While football is still the main focus, the Texas we are shown through the series does keep in mind that there is life outside of football, and education plays a much bigger role. In the series, we do not see many classroom scenes, but we do hear about grades often. This also comes up in this last episode with Jason. There is the concern of how he will continue his education, how he will provide for Lyla and if he is even able to do that. People know that it is an education that leads to jobs. Also, the series shows us the economic reality simply through the setting. Permian does not come of as a thriving place to live, and we see many places that are poverty-stricken. We see where Smash lives with his family in a little apartment in the slums. We see where Matt lives with his grandmother in a nasty old shack. We also see the economic realities through various characters, almost through every character. The economic awareness is shown through Jason and his family's awkward situation of having to sue coach Taylor because they simply can't afford it. It is shown through Matt and his father needing to get another job for the short time he's there. It is shown through Smash as he works to get his family into a nicer home and to lead nicer lives. Everywhere one turns the issue of economy is apparent in Permian, just as it is in Odessa. I think the show wants people to realize that while Permian is different from Odessa because of the years, it is still in the same economic situation that Odessa was in in 1988.
ReplyDeleteThe scene that stayed with me from today's episode was the scene when Tim's father beats him in golf. Throughout the whole series we hear all of this talk about Tim's father and how terrible he is. Then we finally meet him and he really doesn't seem that bad at all. He shows kindness and caring to Tim, and Tim shows a vulnerability when talking with his dad. From the first scenes we see with the two, their relationship really comes off as a solid relationship between father and son. It is not until Tim's father wins the golf match and the bet that we really get to see Tim's father. Tim honestly thinks that his father wants to come see him play in the football game, and then it hits him hard when he realizes that his dad really doesn't care enough to return. His dad wins the round of golf so that he would not have to go to his son's game, and the image we have of Tim's father so far is shattered. Well, shattered for me, at least. Shattered, I think, for Tim as well, as he yells and goes back home, obviously hurt. Tim's father does end up going to the game though in the end, which is very interesting, and since it was the end of the episode there is no explanation. We will have to wait until tomorrow to get a better grasp on Tim's father and who he really is.
I think the boys put up with all the crap that goes with playing football because they truly love and enjoy playing a sport where they can just let go of all their thoughts and emotions about the hardships they face in their lives while on the football field. They play football as their escape from their small, rural town and all the home, economic, or school problems they face. They relish the sheer athleticism of football that allows them to just get “in the zone” and they don’t have to think about their lives. There’s nothing better than the feeling you get when you play a sport really well and can win, and that reward makes them feel good about themselves for once. They all are connected by their pure love of the game and the power, strength, and pride they feel from playing the game of football.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked just how much money people were making during the oil boom and then what they recklessly spent their millions on. It’s just mind-boggling to read statistics like “one out of every forty-five people in the town… had reached millionaire status” and “total construction in Odessa rose 520 percent… back deposits 294 percent and retail sales 276 percent.” And then they thoughtlessly spent away their money on gigantic homes and private jets: “Had the five planes and the three full0times pilots to fly them really been necessary… had it been reason enough to pay $17.5 million for the seven-thousand-acre ranch in El Indio with the breathtaking view of Mexico… should he have planted the twenty-eight thousand pecan trees?” I mean that’s just insanity. Why would any person be so rash as to waste all their money on luxurious things when they must have known it was all a big gamble? I mean these people didn’t even have good educations and they could make these crazy amounts of money: “There were stories of welders who had trouble getting through the alphabet without taking a break making between $80,000 and $90,000 a year.” Most of them didn’t know at all what they were getting themselves into and yet they still blindly took the risk “to loyally following the creed of Texas entrepreneurship during the boom: the less a man knew about something, the more money he was obligated to sink into it.”
Well, in the show we see the huge class division between the families. Buddy Garidy leads a rich, easy, privileged life and owns a whole car dealership where as Tyra and her family have to rely on her mother’s awful boyfriend and her sister’s stripper money. Jason’s family also is struggling financially because of Jason’s injury and are so desperate for money that they must sue coach Eric Taylor. Smash’s family is also lower class in this town because of the effects of racism. There are very few rich people in the town but the ones that are have a huge amount of money. The rest are lower, working class people who are greatly struggling because of the oil bust and bad economy. The rich tend to dictate what goes on in the town in a sense, especially when it comes to football. Coach Taylor has to put up with all of Buddy Garidy’s ideas and schemes just because he is a major financial supporter of the team.
The moment that stayed with me is when Lyla and Jason talk in the car about the whole idea of their marriage. It made me think they really shouldn’t get married because Lyla is not sure that this is the future she wants and she feels rushed into it by Jason. And that last moment when after fighting about getting married Lyla has to get Jason’s wheelchair just really showed how limited and desperate Jason really is. Even when he’s mad and doesn’t want to talk to his girlfriend he still has to ask her to physically go get his wheelchair for him. Lyla will forever be his caregiver if she marries him. She needs to decide if she’s okay with that or not.
I think the boys love football because it’s their chance to be a kid. I love sports because of the challenges they present, the goals that need to be achieved, the wonderful feeling of a sore and tired body, but most of all, the fabulous friends that I make. When you are on a sports team with someone training so hard and playing so hard every day for so many hours, the sheer exhaustion of the sport brings out your vulnerable side that lets you connect with people on a deeper level. It is hard to describe but I think the boys truly love the feeling of knowing each player down to the core, whether they are friends or not in their outside lives. Football is a time when the boys don’t have to worry about their difficult and stressful lives, but just be a teenager in the present moment, an escape from reality and a release of anger. Matt can forget about his dad and grandma, Smash can forget about his father, Tim can forget everything. Football is an escape and their moment of peace and a way to express themselves. Everyone would put up with crap for that.
ReplyDeleteWhat stuck out to me about this chapter was how two very different places with very different people can be linked by one thing: oil, which means money. A very telling line says, “Beyond oil, the two towns had nothing in common, not in outlook, not in the style of the clothes they wore, not even in the quality of excess that marked these towns during nine very remarkable years […]” (214). This really shows a lot about business and how two totally different areas are viewed the same by the country or a bigger institution by merely the fact that they have oil. Without oil, the towns are nothing. I found it interesting when the book talked about how the whole oil business was founded by men who, “With the hearts of pioneers and teeth sharpened to razor points by years spent dutifully at the knew of their good daddy capitalists back east” (213). Here come these rich guys that start the business make millions, and then leave the town to dust and the people to survive on their own. I thought it was interesting how it shows how big business is started and finished, how the rich come and go, not caring about anything but money in their wake.
Like many have said before, the economic state of the town is clearly shown by the lack of jobs, like for Tyra’s mom and Billy. It is clear that there is a huge divide between Buddy Garrity and the rest of the town. Contrasting houses between families such as Matt’s and Smash’s with the Garrity home really shows the true humble nature of this town. I also think that Tyra’s sister working at the local strip club says a lot about the availability of work, especially for women who do not have higher education. I feel like everyone is just trying to scrape on by with what they have, which is shown clearly by the types of jobs they work and the settings in which they live.
The scene that really stood out to me was the scene, like John mentioned, of the kids playing football with Smash and Coach Taylor. This is the happiest that I have seen either Smash or Eric, and they for once, just played with passion and fun and not for winning. They played just to play.
I think the playors love football so much because the have fun playing it. Today we saw Coach Taylor and Smash paying a game of pickup football with little kids. They camera shos them having a great time, really enjoying themselves. That was football without he attention and lights and pressure. This moment comes right after Eric says, "You know sometimes we take this so serious we lose track of exactly why it is we love this damn game so much. Why it is we play this game. I'm guilty of that," showing that fun is why they play the game.
ReplyDeleteWhat struck me the most in the chapter is just how ridiculously rich the Midland got from oil. Forbes found that "six people, each worth $200 million or more, lived in Midland" (212) and that "one out of every forty-five people in the town in the late seventies had reached millionaire status" (212). If you count inflation into those numbers it makes you see that there was crazy amounts of money in Midland. I thought of Midland and Odessa as poor towns, and even during the boom I did not think of them as one of the richest towns in the nation. This is what struck me most, this contrast between boom and bust.
Although the the series does show some poverty, mainly Smash and Saracen, I don't think Dillon's economy is completely gone. We see middle class lives as well in the series. The Taylors and Garities have money. 2006 small town Texas isn't doing well, however, its not having a depression either. And the citizens in the show seem to be satisfied. Smash's mom said she doesn't need a big house to happy.
What most jumped out at me today is when Julie and Matt broke up. I stuck out so much because it was so sad. They're both such nice people and they were a good couple so their breakup came as a shock.
I think that the boys stick with football because they enjoy it. Sports put them completely in the moment. They don’t have to think about anything else. All of the problems in their lives and their futures are pushed aside when they focus on the game or practice at hand. It is an escape and a release. I also think that growing up in Dillon or Odessa ingrains football into their minds from a young age. Growing up with football being such an important part of their community makes them want to be a part of it. Being surrounded by football makes it a part of their lives from an early age.
ReplyDeleteWhat struck me about the reading was the stark contrast between Odessa and Midland. Although they both became wealthy during the boom, Midland was by far the most successful out of the two. Even the ways the towns are built are completely different. There is “Midland with its improbably tall buildings, glassy and shimmering in the sun,” (211) and then there is “Odessa sprawling and oozing, its most striking feature the fenced-off fields with row after row of oil field equipment.” (211) The press the two towns also illustrates how different they are. Midland is known for statistic of “one out of every forty-five people in the town in the late seventies had reached millionaire status.” (212) While Odessa was known as the “murder capital U.S.A.” (212) The only thing the towns have in common is their dependency on oil. When the boom abruptly ended nobody in either town was prepared for it, because everyone was careless with their money. Nobody was thinking about the future, and if they were they assumed that the boom would last forever. No one was planning for if it ended. The stories about Giebel and how he spent millions without thinking are crazy. He bought planes, built a 2.4 million dollar house and invested in a project trying to make super cows.
The series shows us the economic problems going on in the small town of Dillon. One of the many problems it shows is unemployment. This is shown when Tyra’s mom was trying to get a job. The only reason that she even got an interview was because Riggins talked to Buddy about it. From this we see that there aren’t many job opportunities available in the town. Without jobs the poorer people in Dillon are going to keep being poor and the divide between the rich, like Buddy, the working class is going to grow.
The scene that stuck with me was when Tim’s dad won the golf game and celebrated. By doing that he basically told Tim that he didn’t really care about him and watching his game. It shows how Tim’s dad cared more about what ever is keeping him away from Dillon then Tim. Although he does end up going to the game, he obviously didn’t want to until he saw how pissed off and hurt Tim was. It makes me wonder what actually happened that made him leave Dillon.
Having played football for a few years, I understand the amount of toughness, persistance, and drive it takes to play the game well. All of the star football players on Dillon have a huge drive inside them, and football is their gateway to channel this energy. You can see it in the eyes of Smash, Saracen, or Riggins during the games. Football is one of the few, perhaps the only, sport that you can effectively channel your anger and other emotions into and be able to perform well. This attracts many young, anxious teenage boys. Also, the feeling of superiority you get from winning for Dillon is unmatched in any other highschool experience. By winning against another small town team, the people and kids of Dillon are able to feel a sense of superiority over the town they just beat.
ReplyDeleteI think the show exploits what living in small town Texas in 2006 in multiple ways. The restaurants in the town are a big exploit. The nicest restaurant in the entire town is an Applebee's, which compared to our standards as Paideia kids in 2012, is laughable. In the show, Buddy Garrity seems like a person who plays a very large role in Dillon, and he also seems to be fairly well off compared to most people in the town, while he is just simply a used car salesman.
The scene that stayed with me the most from today's viewing was when Riggin's dad shows up at the stadium for the game unexpectedly. Even though Riggins was about to start the game, he just stands there on the field staring blankly at his father in shock.
The boys in both the series and the book put up with the football crap because they need stability, and nothing else in Odessa or Dillon can provide that. They can go to football practice, and if something goes wrong, punishment will be fair and unbiased. Everyone has the chance to do something great on any given day in any given practice or game. No other aspect of anyone’s life is like this in Odessa/Dillon, and debatably the same could be true of life anywhere. The appeal of football is the fresh chance that comes with every game, and the lack of perfection. No matter the outcome of a game, there will be work to be done and improvements to be made. This makes losing much less daunting, because it just becomes a less preferable portion of the cycle.
ReplyDeleteWhat struck me most about the oil boom and subsequent bust was how entirely familiar it feels. Not in the sense that my own family had spent excessively and lavishly only to lose it all, but in the sense that this is a glimpse of our country’s economy. The boom and the bust is how we live, and it is a never-ending cycle that gives us a horrible selective memory. Bissinger’s description of the eighties seems to always apply: “…nothing was sacred- except, of course, the making of money and protection of glass-house empires at all expense” (223). The look at Midland and Odessa is just an obvious one, one that we can all see as somewhat unrealistic for ourselves, but sad. In truth, this is always the reality for all of us, and it always will be, because such materialism is “…as impossible to resist as an addiction” (217).
What I think the series gives us is a surface view of a hard life in Dillon. The economic situation is obviously bad, but that is not the desired focus of the show, so it is less prevalent of an issue most of the time. Something that happened on the show that played up the decrepit economic state of Dillon is Smash’s steroid use. This is something that I don’t think that we will ever be able to understand. Smash has no money, his only hope is vested in the great sport of football, but he is anxiety-ridden by the idea that he might not have what it takes. Turning to steroid use is what Smash sees as the easy way to success, and potentially as the only way to success. He doesn’t have the possibility of going to college for academics if his sport fails him, the way most of us do. Smash’s helplessness is what brings him to the juice, and despite the presence of complete and utter poverty, this must be what most of the characters are experiencing.
I was really disappointed by Saracen’s behavior in today’s episode. He just continues to act like a helpless lamb, a manner not appropriate for QB 1. It appears that he is losing all memory of how hard he worked to get Julie, and that he is throwing away the opportunity she has given him for a football team that would forget about him the second he faltered. Matt acts as though he is the victim of the “real” football players, such as Riggins and Smash, but in my own opinion, it is completely within his control to use his better judgment and not get into a hot tub with the rally girls. He just gets dragged along for everything, and continues to act a victim. I was disappointed by Matt Saracen in today’s episode.
1. The boys play football because that game offers them a chance to live in a world where everything is true. Throughout their lives, the boys on the team will be judged on their intelligence, appearance and background. When they are on the field, they're judged on nothing but wether or not they are good at the game. If a running back is slow then he's slow and that's all there is to it; people aren't going to credit this to where he grew up or what kinds of grades he gets. For these boys, the football field is one of the only places where they are judged purely on their ability and nothing else.
ReplyDelete2. I thought the contrast between Midland and Odessa was really interesting. At one point, both cities were benefitting from the same oil fields, but Midland appears to have done much better economically. Additionally, the rivalry between the cities seems to be so baseless and juvenile. I originally thought that football was something that connected the two cities, but the rivalry that has grown between the teams immediately breaks up whatever connection there could've been.
3. The series presents the town to have each of the extremes when it comes to financial stability. For example, the Garrity family lives in a large house and they don't think twice before buying something. On the other hand, you have Matt. Matt is single-handedly supporting his grandmother and himself. His house isn't exactly falling apart, but it's not nearly to the standards of the Garrity home. And then there are the houses that we see but don't experience. The camera often pans across large areas of land where all we see is grass and run-down looking trailers.
4. I love the scene where Taylor and Smash are playing football with all the neighborhood kids. Taylor is such a serious character usually, and it's nice to see a different side of him. I also really liked watching him interact with Smash. Here's a kid who could've not only ruined Taylor's life, but that of his entire family, and Coach goes to his house and tells him that it's all going to be okay. It shows a real compassionate side to Taylor.
I think these characters play football to escape there lives at home. In the a hour that they play, the only thing they think about is football and whether or not they can score that big touchdown, or make that big defensive play. They play football to escape there depressing home lives to be part of something bigger than themselves.
ReplyDeletewhat struck me about the reading was how people could get so much money and then loose it all. During the bust people get so rich and buy private jets and have gigantic house. But when the bust goes away they loose all of their money and end up back to where they where before the bust or even worse.
The series tells us that the Dillon is a pretty poor tonw where there aren't many high paying jobs. Most people are pretty poor with a few well to do guys like Buddy Garity who has a big say in what happens in the town.
What stuck with me was the way coach really pushed Smash after he had been caught taking steroids and how Smash pushed himself.