One of the things I enjoy most about living in Texas is high school football. I enjoy watching some of my favorite teams have a great season, work its way through the playoffs, and hopefully accomplish the goal that every team in Texas strives to achieve, arriving at the state championship. But in Texas football is something else, it's something you can’t really describe; you just have to experience it for yourself. Movies as well as books that have told stories about this experience, my personal favorite being Friday Night Lights. It describes a Texas high school football team and their town located in west Texas (the middle of nowhere). This community puts winning football games over just about everything else, and isn’t afraid to show it. Renting multi-million dollar jets to transport players across the state as well as waiting in line overnight to buy tickets to each game are a few examples of how serious high school football is in Texas. As Ben Schwartzwalder said in The Express, “In Texas, football is a religion.”

As stereotypical as it may seem, for many fans it is still the truth. I guess I take part in fueling this practice as I personally follow a few select high school teams each year throughout the season. One of my favorites is Permian Odessa, mostly because of its history, as also described in Friday Night Lights. Unfortunately, the team has not had as much success recently as it once did in the 80’s. They did make the playoffs this year and made it through the first round but ended up losing in the second round, which was disappointing for many fans. Nevertheless, I still follow the team and check its stats after every Friday night. Another one of my favorites is Austin Westlake, mostly because they are located here in Austin, along with the fact that I have a few friends that play for them. They have been a pretty average football team up until recently, when they got a new coach and have been gaining a lot of talent. Though they ended up losing unexpectedly, this year was the first time the team has made it to the state champion in almost twenty years, which was very exciting for the school as well as other local Austinites. It is hard to believe that the season went by so fast this year; by the time I realized it the 10-week season was over, and the playoffs had begun.

One of the things I enjoy about high school football in general is that each year brings major change, as people graduate and more players are added to the team. This creates a never-ending cycle as well as endless possibilities when it comes to the talent on the team each year. Being in high school seems to make this experience even more thrilling as I am able to play as well as support others in the same position. Those who know the sport best, coaches as well as players, know how the sport itself is truly more than a game. Especially the few who have had the opportunity to participate understand the lifelong lessons and character traits they have gained from playing the game; it's truly something that has to be experienced first-hand. It is hard for many to fathom how traits such as these can evolve from such a physical sport, but it seems as if that is one of they key motivational factors throughout the game: having your teammates back no matter what. It is moments like these that strengthened my passion for the game the most. Being in Texas just strengthens this experience, as well as allow you to be surrounded by other fans with the same affection for the game. From the special treatment of football players to the construction of multi-million dollar stadiums, it is no secret that football is king in Texas.