Read Online Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H. G. Bissinger - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: H. G. Bissinger
Tags: United States, General, Social Science, History, Education, State & Local, Texas, Sports & Recreation, Customs & Traditions, Football, Social Aspects, Sociology of Sports, Physical Education, Permian High School (Odessa; Tex.) - Football, Odessa, Football - Social Aspects - Texas - Odessa, Sports Stories, Southwest (AZ; NM; OK; TX), Football Stories
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assigned for
the football season. With that assignment came various timehonored responsibilities.
As part of the tradition, each Pepette brought some type of
sweet for her player every week before the game. She didn't
necessarily have to make something from scratch, but there was
indirect pressure to because of not-so-private grousing from
players who tired quickly of bags of candy and not so discreetly
let it be known that they much preferred something freshbaked. If she had to buy something store-bought, it might as
well be beer, and at least one player was able to negotiate such
an arrangement with his Pepette during the season. Instead of
getting a bag of cookies, he got a six-pack of beer.
In addition, each Pepette also had to make a large sign for
her player that went in his front yard and stayed there the entire season as a notice to the community that he played football
for Permian. Previously the making of these yard signs, which
looked like miniature Broadway marquees, had become quite
competitive. Some of the Pepettes spent as much as $100 of
their own money to make an individual sign, decorating it with
twinkling lights and other attention-getting devices. It became a rather serious game of can-you-top-this, and finally a dictum
was handed down that all the signs must be made the same way,
without any neon.
A Pepette also had responsibility for making smaller posters,
which went up in the school halls at the beginning of each week
and were transferred to the gym for the mandatory Friday
morning pep rally. The making of these signs could be quite
laborious as well, and one Pepette during the season broke
down in tears because she had had to stay up until the wee
hours of the morning trying to keep up with the other Pepettes
and make a fancy hall sign that her player never even thanked
her for.
These were the basic Pepette requirements, but some girls
went beyond in their show of spirit.
They might embroider the map of Texas on towels and then
spell out MOIo in the borders. Or they might make MoJo pillowcases that the players could take with them (luring road trips.
Or they might place their fresh-baked cookies in tins elaborately decorated in the Permian colors of' black and white. In
previous years Pepettes had made scrapbooks for their players,
including one with the cover made of lacquered wood and
modeled on Disney's Jungle Book. The book had clippings, cut
out in ninety-degree angles as square and true as in an architectural rendering, of every story written about the Permian
team that year. It also had beautiful illustrations and captions
that tried to capture what it meant to be a Pepette.
"The countryside was filled with loyal and happy subjects
serving their chosen panther," said a caption in a chapter entitled "Joy," and next to it was a picture of 'a little girl with Rowers in her hand going up to a panther, the Permian mascot,
roaring under a tree.
The Watermelon Feed began with a prayer by one of the pastors at Temple Baptist Church, the biggest church in Odessa.
The sign in front of the church in previous years had con tamed such inspirational messages as HOW DO YOU SPELL DEFENSE? MOJO.
"We thank you for the joy the athletes bring to our hearts
and lives," the pastor said.
Following the prayer, a video was shown of highlights from
the past season in 1987. Since the team had gone to the semifinals of the state playoffs before losing to the eventual champion, Plano, it had been considered not a great year but at least
a pretty good one.
There were sporadic yells of Molo! but the crowd in the cafeteria didn't become animated until the screen showed running
back Shawn Crow breaking tackle after tackle in the quarterfinal playoff game against Arlington.
At one point Permian trailed in the game 28-7. But then the
team put on a miraculous comeback, rallying around the example of one player who got in his stance, vomited through his
helmet because he had
the football season. With that assignment came various timehonored responsibilities.
As part of the tradition, each Pepette brought some type of
sweet for her player every week before the game. She didn't
necessarily have to make something from scratch, but there was
indirect pressure to because of not-so-private grousing from
players who tired quickly of bags of candy and not so discreetly
let it be known that they much preferred something freshbaked. If she had to buy something store-bought, it might as
well be beer, and at least one player was able to negotiate such
an arrangement with his Pepette during the season. Instead of
getting a bag of cookies, he got a six-pack of beer.
In addition, each Pepette also had to make a large sign for
her player that went in his front yard and stayed there the entire season as a notice to the community that he played football
for Permian. Previously the making of these yard signs, which
looked like miniature Broadway marquees, had become quite
competitive. Some of the Pepettes spent as much as $100 of
their own money to make an individual sign, decorating it with
twinkling lights and other attention-getting devices. It became a rather serious game of can-you-top-this, and finally a dictum
was handed down that all the signs must be made the same way,
without any neon.
A Pepette also had responsibility for making smaller posters,
which went up in the school halls at the beginning of each week
and were transferred to the gym for the mandatory Friday
morning pep rally. The making of these signs could be quite
laborious as well, and one Pepette during the season broke
down in tears because she had had to stay up until the wee
hours of the morning trying to keep up with the other Pepettes
and make a fancy hall sign that her player never even thanked
her for.
These were the basic Pepette requirements, but some girls
went beyond in their show of spirit.
They might embroider the map of Texas on towels and then
spell out MOIo in the borders. Or they might make MoJo pillowcases that the players could take with them (luring road trips.
Or they might place their fresh-baked cookies in tins elaborately decorated in the Permian colors of' black and white. In
previous years Pepettes had made scrapbooks for their players,
including one with the cover made of lacquered wood and
modeled on Disney's Jungle Book. The book had clippings, cut
out in ninety-degree angles as square and true as in an architectural rendering, of every story written about the Permian
team that year. It also had beautiful illustrations and captions
that tried to capture what it meant to be a Pepette.
"The countryside was filled with loyal and happy subjects
serving their chosen panther," said a caption in a chapter entitled "Joy," and next to it was a picture of 'a little girl with Rowers in her hand going up to a panther, the Permian mascot,
roaring under a tree.
The Watermelon Feed began with a prayer by one of the pastors at Temple Baptist Church, the biggest church in Odessa.
The sign in front of the church in previous years had con tamed such inspirational messages as HOW DO YOU SPELL DEFENSE? MOJO.
"We thank you for the joy the athletes bring to our hearts
and lives," the pastor said.
Following the prayer, a video was shown of highlights from
the past season in 1987. Since the team had gone to the semifinals of the state playoffs before losing to the eventual champion, Plano, it had been considered not a great year but at least
a pretty good one.
There were sporadic yells of Molo! but the crowd in the cafeteria didn't become animated until the screen showed running
back Shawn Crow breaking tackle after tackle in the quarterfinal playoff game against Arlington.
At one point Permian trailed in the game 28-7. But then the
team put on a miraculous comeback, rallying around the example of one player who got in his stance, vomited through his
helmet because he had
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