Based on a true story does not mean it is a documentary...

Rating: Null/10 (13 October 2004)

I watched the 1988 season unfold from the 1st game until Permian played Dallas Carter in Austin at UT on that rainy afternoon.
I'm sorry theSundance14 but you did not attend the actual state game against Dallas Carter at the AstroDome because it did not happen. Please, let me quote you...I was in attendance at the actual Dallas Carter/ Odessa Permian game in the Astro Dome in 1988..... Just for the record. Permian played Dallas Carter for semi-finals in AUSTIN at UT. Dallas Carter played Converse Judson for State. Dallas Carter was stripped of their title because the school had broken eligibility rules. They forfeited all of their playoff games and Converse Judson was declared State Champions.
Peter Berg definitely took a creative license when it came to recreating the 1988 season and the relationship between Don and Charlie Billingsly. But then again, if we wanted it word for word it would have been called a documentary. Documentaries are something that ends up on the History Channel late a night. Plus, they don't sell tickets.
If you go to this movie expecting it to be a mirror of the 1988 season, then you will be very disappointed. Watch the movie for entertainment, read the book for something near the truth. Remember, the book is written through the eyes of a man(not a native Texan) who lived in Odessa one year and decided to write about something he thought would sell him books and put him on the best seller list. He succeeded. I've always heard if you want to sell books, write about something controversial. If you want to sell movie tickets, if have to make a movie that touches the audiences emotions. Looks like Peter Berg did that. Go to the ESPN website and they have a comparison of the real life events and the movie events.
It's sad that the whole nation seems to think Odessa is some backwards town that thinks of nothing else than football and how football will allow our children to leave this dusty little town. Some of us choose to to stay here. Some of us choose to raise our children here. It is a shame people will never know the "real" citizens of Odessa.