For my first Throwback Thursday I wanted to share an episode that is very special to me. Friday Night Lights is one of my favorite shows because it focused on sports and what sports can mean for so many people, not just the ones who play the game. Sports can be cruel- a player can get a career-threatening injury; coaches and players you love leave; and sometimes you end up bawling your eyes out because your favorite basketball team lost to Wisconsin in the Final Four (not that I ever did that or anything). But sports can also be amazing. When a player has a breakthrough moment or when your team wins a championship, it's one of the best feelings in the world. But win or lose, sports always have lessons. That's what Friday Night Lights was all about.
The episode I chose to write about is "State". It was the season finale of the first season and one of my favorites in the entire series. It starts off with a pep rally to celebrate the beloved Dillon Panthers going to the state championship. The entire town and team are beyond excited. Everyone except for the coach's family and the quarterback, Matt Saracen. Coach Eric Taylor has just taken a job at TMU, and his daughter is not excited about leaving her boyfriend. She thinks it's a wonderful idea to tell the starting quarterback that his coach is leaving right before the biggest game of his life. Great decision making, Julie. Luckily Matt is a good kid and tells Coach Taylor that he doesn't want to talk about it, and he just wants to focus on football.
Another complication leading up to the big game is Coach Taylor's wife, Tami (played by the fabulous Connie Britton), is pregnant. She just finds out in this episode, and it's a complete surprise. She already didn't want to move out of Dillon, and this pregnancy makes her want to stay even more. She's nervous about telling Eric, but she tells him the night before the game, and he's absolutely thrilled! These two are so cute!
Most of this episode is action packed and very dramatic, but there were some lighter moments. Before the team leaves for the championship, Tim Riggins gives Tyra four tickets to the game. She originally just had a ticket for her and Landry, and Landry was excited about a romantic road trip. Imagine his surprise when he learns he is driving not only Tyra, but her mother and sister as well. The look on his face is priceless. To make things better, Landry insists on Matt's grandmother riding with them. Then, they encounter Lyla Garrity on the side of the road because her car broke down. Tyra and Lyla have major issues with each other, but make peace long enough to ride to the game together. Six people crammed into a tiny car for a trip all the way to Dallas. I'm sure that was fun. Even though this moment didn't have much to do with football, I was grateful for a few minutes of comic relief.
At the locker room, the team is silent as Coach begins yet another amazing speech. "When Jason Street went down first game of the season everybody wrote us off. Everybody. And yet here we are at the championship game. 40,000 people out there have also written us off. There are a few out there who do still believe in you. A few who will never give up on you. You go back out on the field- those are the people I want in your minds. Those are the people I want in your hearts." As he talks, the camera scrolls through the stadium and shows Tami, Julie, Matt's grandmother, Smash's mom, and everyone else who loves these Panthers. I had chills during this part of the episode. "Every man at some point in his life is going to lose a battle," he continues. "He's going to fight and he's going to lose. But what makes him a man is in the midst of that battle he does not lose himself. This game is not over. So let's hear it one more time. Together. Full eyes. Clear hearts."
"CAN'T LOSE!"
That speech fires up the players, and they start the second half strong scoring 14 points fast. Jason Street tells Matt that he has to take control of this game, and he has to do it now. So he does. He throws to Smash who scores but also dislocates his shoulder. The trainer tells Smash he shouldn't play the rest of the game, but Smash won't hear of it. "This is State!" He screams. Nothing is going to stop him. So the trainer pops his shoulder back into place, and he goes back out and keeps scoring. (Side note: this happened to one of Kentucky's players during a basketball game a few years ago. Ick. Talk about playing through the pain). Now there's six seconds left, and the Panthers are down by five. This takes us to my absolute favorite part of the episode.
Saracen tells Coach that they can win with a complicated play featuring Riggins and Smash. Coach is hesitant, but those three and Jason Street convince him that they can make it work. The guys run back on the field with the crowd screaming in the background. The camera zooms in showing Riggins nodding to Saracen. At that moment I knew they had this. Saracen throws to Riggins who runs and throws a backwards pass to Smash who runs for his life toward the endzone. He scores! Panthers win state! Panthers win state!
After they win all of the players, coaches, and fans celebrate. I love when Riggins and Smash hug because these guys pretty much hated each other at the beginning of the season. Saracen, Riggins, Smash and the rest of the Panthers overcame all of their obstacles and differences to come together to win. That's one of the great things about sports: it brings people together. People that have nothing in common come together to play a game and end up as friends. It's a bond that can never be broken.
The team returns to Dillon, and the town has a parade to celebrate the new state champions. After the parade, Coach Taylor stops by the the football facility, but he doesn't meet the team. Not yet. He overhears Street giving the team a speech about how they should enjoy being champions today because next season they'll all have a target on their backs. I liked this moment because it shows that Coach passed his lessons on to Jason. He taught his players things they will remember forever. The episode ends with the team giving Coach Eric Taylor a standing ovation. They celebrate and love Coach Taylor even though he is leaving Dillon.
"He healed this team. He healed this town." That's what the sports analyst on the radio said about Coach Taylor. I couldn't agree more. Rewatching this episode makes me remember how much I loved Friday Night Lights. I miss Coach and Tami Taylor. I miss Tim Riggins and Matt Saracen. I miss the Dillon Panthers.
What did you all think about this episode? Did you enjoy "State" as much as I did? What were some of your favorite moments of Friday Night Lights?
