Friday Night Lights Logic Problems

You know, I really do love this show. Why NBC has buried it on Direct TV until summer while pushing a hateful bloody pile of shit like "Chuck" is beyond me. Friday Night Lights is the most realistic high school sports show I've ever seen (Just inching out "The White Shadow") and might be the best show on Network TV right now. Yeah that's right, "Lost". I said it. The island is the light huh? That's what you have for me after 7 years? Come talk to me after the finale. But even though FNL gives a pretty honest look at Texas High School Football and the mania it causes in small towns, I find myself being prevented from truly getting caught up in the story of Dillon, Texas the way I get with "Lost" or "The Wire" because of the sports involved plot twists that require a HUGE suspension of disbelief for anyone who has ever watched an organized sport for more than ten minutes.

In no particular order:

1) "Smash" Williams gets blackballed from colleges for punching a kid- Setup: Smash is the Me-First-Entitled-to-everything star running Back of the Dillon Panthers. In season 3 he is said to be the top running back in Texas and one of the top ten in the nation. Then he punches a kid who was harassing his sister and all of the colleges recruiting him turn their back on him. Why this is complete bullshit to any sports fan: You have got to be kidding me, colleges recruit violent felony offenders and you expect me to believe they turn their back on a kid because of a fight? Christ, John Thompson recruited Allen Iverson WHILE HE WAS IN JAIL. If colleges didn't admit guys with shady backgrounds then the University of Miami would have 5 less national titles than they do now and The '85 Oklahoma Sooners wouldn't have had almost everyone from that team serve time in prison for cocaine trafficking and shooting each other.


2) Coach Taylor is removed as head football coach at Dillon High - Setup: Coach Eric Taylor is removed as Coach from Dillon High after losing in the State championship, and thanks in no small part to his icy relationship with the star QB's father, Joe McCoy, who convinces the school to let Taylor go to East Dillon High, and replace him with his Son, J.D.'s Coach, Wade Aikman. Why this is complete bullshit to any sports fan: As best I can tell, Coach Taylor amassed a record of 26-6 in 3 seasons with the Panthers, which included one State Championship, after his all world QB was crippled in the first game of the season, and another State Runner-up. You don't have to follow football very closely to know that high school stadiums are named after people who have done less. Now truth be known, I have yet to see what exactly makes Eric Taylor such a great coach. He doesn't really seem to connect with his players - or even like them for that matter- and most of the time he choses to stay silent rather than give an easy explanation that would probably solve the conflict at hand, but you cant argue wins and losses. Maybe the boosters would be split whether to name the stadium or the field after him, but to switch coaches to please a kid that will only be there three more years? Not Likely.

3) Landry Kills a Guy- Setup: Landry, who is the most realistic of all the characters on the show, has the hots for school slut Tyra Collette. By season two he's eased his way into the friend zone and is spending some time watching movies at her house. One of Tyra's exes has been stalking and threatening her. When he corners her outside of a convenience store and hits her Landry comes to her defense and kills him with blunt force trauma. Why this is complete bullshit to any sports fan: How about to anyone who has watched Matlock. Landry killed a guy in self-defense. Better yet, he did it to save the life of the hot girl that wont give you the time of day. It's every dweebs wet dream. But instead of calling the cops and getting some hero sex, He and Tyra go bury the body like they're part of Johnny Sac's crew. This was by far the most distracting and needless storyline in the show. No wait, Saracen fucking the expired work visa'd in home caregiver, that was worse. No. No, Landry killing a guy, definitely Landry killing a guy.

4) Dillon loses a RB to redistricting. Setup: With the town now split into two High Schools, two football squads have to be fielded. When It's found out that Luke Cafferty- Dillon's star running back- has been using a fake address, he is forced to play for the East Dillon Lions. Why this is complete bullshit to any sports fan: No way a senior RB on a State Title contender has to go play for a school that is just starting their program. Besides, I'm pretty sure only underclassmen are prone to be moved to other high schools in their area. Athletes always get a pass. Oh and why would they have been using that fake address for years when East Dillon's football program just started?