H.G. Bissinger left his high end job as a writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer and headed to Odessa, Texas to write a novel focused on the role that high school football players play within their society. He follows the Permian High School Panthers football team through the duration of the 1988 season. I think it is fairly safe to say that he could have never conceptualized all of the struggles, agonies, and triumphs from the players and the gaudy expectations of the crazed fans in the football obsessed town. Many powerful themes and messages are held at the core of this novel as most think that this is not just representing Odessa, Texas, but America as a whole. The best example of a theme and message was that of racism, which was very immense in the novel as Bissinger was taken by storm at the rampant racism that was running through the town. Quotes are especially impactful in this novel and they help the reader grasp what was truly taking place in this town during this time frame. An impactful quote that summarizes the town of Odessa and gives the reader a great sense of what is to come later is early in the novel when the author states in the prologue that, “Those lights become an addiction if you live in a place like Odessa, the Friday Night fix.” This turns out to be one of the main themes in the novel as the reader is introduced to the preoccupation of the town for high school football and how the tempers and views of the townsfolk are largely determined by the current state of the team. Readers will enjoy this novel, simply stated, if the reader has a general understanding and appreciation for football. Keeping all of the positives in mind, one negative I could take away is certain individual profiles of the players seemed to drag on at times. But, for a football fanatic like myself, I found it hard to put the book down as I felt as if I was a member of the town cheering on the team while knowing the backgrounds of each star player. The small details regarding everything that takes place outside the lines of a football game make it a great read. People don’t always appreciate all of the blood, sweat, and tears that go in to playing football and those qualities are constantly mentioned throughout the book. It is also a great read because of the alarming signs of the awful things that take place around us and how people react to it. I strongly recommend this novel as one will not only learn about football but all of the effects it has on society as a whole. One glaring effect that the people of Odessa left on kids was as city leaders and other politicians gathered to make groundbreaking decisions regarding the school district realignments when segregation was finally put to a halt in 1982. They put the possibilities of having a better football team above the reality of how they are inauspiciously affecting the school kids and the other members of the region. Overall, it is quality literature that should be a necessity to read.