Five seasons. 74 episodes. One amazing show. I am going to talk up the TV show "Friday Night Lights" so much because I believe that as many people as possible should watch it. For those who don't know, the show is about a small town called Dillon, Texas and focuses on the lives of the high school football players, their friends, and families. The coach of the team, Eric Taylor, acts as a father figure for many of the players and, along with his wife Tami, offers wisdom and advice to those at Dillon High. Each of the characters is relatable in a different way. They experience struggles, learn to grow through pain, and refuse to let hard experiences break them down.
The relationship between Tami and Eric is #relationshipgoals to the max. They emphasize respect and support for each other throughout the show and work through hard decisions together. As parents of a teenage daughter, Tami and Eric are confident in the way that they raised their child and want her to feel comfortable to talk about anything with them. The daughter, Julie, and her friends are told to never settle for someone who does not acknowledge their worth. They are beautiful, clever, strong, and intelligent, and deserve men who appreciate them for all of their qualities, not only their looks.
Coach Taylor has many inspirational speeches throughout the show. In the very first episode, he acknowledges the reality of failure and falling. He knows that there will come a time when, on or off the football field, his players will lose and fall at some point in life. The most important thing is, in the midst of their loss, they cannot lose who they are. Just because they get knocked down does not mean that they have to stay down; they can find some way to stand back up again, physically or mentally.
He encourages his players by telling them to try. Even if they do not succeed, they still have credit in the fact that they tried. Tami is the high school counselor and shows the viewers the importance of being there for people, ready to listen to them. She, along with her husband, encourages all the students to pursue their dreams of winning the State Championship, going to college, or whatever their aspirations may be. Never giving up on what you are passionate about reaps rewards, as is displayed in the lives of these characters.
Finally, as any "Friday Night Lights" fan would know, the mantra repeated throughout the show is “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” Coach Taylor tells this to his players after practices and before games. With their eyes focused on their goals and their hearts full with the love of friends and family, they are strong and unbreakable. Never forget it.
