Friday Night Lights

I am not from Texas, but I have lived here longer than any other place in my life. My son is born and raised here; my boyfriend and his son are as well. Maybe it is in the Texas blood, to be born knowing intrinsically what Friday Night Lights are...

I went to high school in Virginia and Ohio. I don't think I ever paid for a football game, and I know we didn't have reserved seats or turf fields (and yes, I acknowledge that it might be different now). I remember them being a place to hang out with your friends. To get away from your parents for a little while in a safe place. I am a big school spirit person so I was there to cheer on our teams too. And while the latter is still true here in Texas, there are things that are different.

We have season tickets with parking passes to the games. They are awesome seats - 50 yard line, no one in front of us, season tickets. At this school, as previous posts mentioned, the history is so ingrained that I think there were as many adults without kids at the school anymore as there were with kids still there.

I remember the old bleachers and grassy fields, but these stadiums are new and big and shiny (the public schools are even more so) with real seats. And yes, they are turf - no grass here.

Everyone is at this game, everyone knows that during football season, this is where you are on Friday nights. To me, who didn't grow up with it, it is amazing to watch the community be all about this one normal Friday night game...and to be that way every week.

What's my point? Well, simply that it is a new world that my son will be going into - be it at this particular high school or one of the other catholic schools, it's a new world that he seems to slide right into without fail. I have been to a few games before, but now? It seems so much more real...and I think I finally understand what people mean by Friday Night Lights.

PS: The Rangers won by 1 point (not 1 touchdown, 1 point) and yes, I was screaming as much as the next person in the 100+ degree heat.