Recently I have started watching the television show, “Friday Night Lights.” Netflix is great, by the way. I had heard good things about this show so I wanted to see it and try it out for myself. Turns out that I really like it. It may soon be in my top 5 shows of all time. It’s definitely climbing the charts. The show is about a small town in Texas that is very centered around high school football. It’s fun to watch as Coach Taylor tries to mold these guys into not only the best football players that they can be, but also into men.
I think that even though Friday Night Lights is just a TV show, there are a lot of lessons that one can learn if they pay close attention. For instance, in the very first episode the star quarterback is injured and he must learn to overcome the fact that he probably will never walk again. I’m only a few episodes in so I’m not sure how it all turns out, but so far it’s been a real struggle for him. What I really like about the show is that the characters are human. What I mean is, the star quarterback, Jason Streets really does struggle. You can tell that he is a good person with a strong work ethic, but that doesn’t mean he is completely fearless and positive.
Another character that is interesting to watch is of course, Tim Riggins. That’s because he is a little more rough around the edges than the others. He is sort of the rebel without a cause. I think that we all have had those feelings of wanting to just brush everything off and just do whatever we feel like doing, and he kind of personifies that. At the same time though, he isn’t completely selfish, but just mostly.
The lesson that I really want to share today though comes from an episode titled, “Who’s Your Daddy?” Matt Saracen has recently become the new quarterback and he is trying to get his head in the game. He’s got a lot of pressure from the coach and his teammates since Jason was injured. There’s a scene that occurs in this episode between the Coach Taylor and Matt where the coach is trying to help Matt with his game skills. What he tells him is very interesting because it seems contradictory. He tells him that he needs to get loose and focus.
If you really think about it, it makes sense. For those of you who play sports, you have most likely noticed that this is true at some point or another. Being loose, but focused helps you perform better. It’s true with many other things as well, not just sports. Musicians, news reporters, and anyone else who is under pressure can benefit from following those words. Of course, to be loose and focused is much easier said than done. Getting there is for the most part an individual thing.
