Football, Texas style

Rating: 10/10 (18 October 2004)

Some folks in Texas take their high school football seriously - very seriously - almost to the point where it becomes a religion. If you thought Indiana was a tough place to play basketball, "sir, you ain't seen nothing' yet." You better be ready to let it all hang out if you intend to play football in Texas.
This is a film about high school football, Texas-style. It's big, mean, and hits harder than a Mack truck spiked with nitrous, in a manner folks at ESPN would have been proud to have produced. It's seen from the viewpoint of what it was like, during one season in 1988, to play football the way it was not meant to be played. A game taken to new heights, and new lows, for a town absolutely in love with nothing' else but football. Vince Lombardi said, "winning is an everyday thing", but in this town, it's the only thing that matters. Come hell or high water, on Friday nights, either you win or you better start packin'. Kids here are expected to be men. Colleges from around the universe are all here to watch high school football and everyone knows it's the only way out of town. Kids' dreams are made and broken for a Division 1 football scholarship and then on to the NFL. The college scouts know it, the town knows it, the parents know it, and the kids dream it. But in life, just like football, they play the game and sometimes things work out and sometimes they take unexpected paths, and sometimes they don't work out. You never know, which is why they play the game. And they play it in Texas on Friday nights, under the lights.