Fact: AoF Editors Think Alike and You Can Have Too Much of a Good Thing

As an introductory note I was sitting at home today reading the Sports Guy's NFL picks and couldn't help but wonder why in the hell the liked Friday Night Lights so much. I then decided to express my bewilderment to our loyal readers. When I signed in I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of our editors consumed a small amount of speed and ripped off three posts (a new record for you keeping score at home). However, I also found out that The Whip had commented on this very subject. Taken aback, I decided to ponder my other options but decided he was right, someone needs to take on the mighty Simmons here and Dougie is the man for the job.

I'll admit it, I was the editor that gave this show a shot and defended it to its detractors, blindly assuming it would be as good as the movie (which was sweet). Wait, how am I qualified to comment on such a movie you may ask. Well, I am a football movie connoisseur. If given a movie to pass out to after a night of drinking, I'd take The Program over Terminator or any number of Jenna Jameson productions.

The football movie is tough because there are only so many angles you can take. The Longest Yard (the original, not the gayed up remake), Unnecessary Roughness and Little Giants (yeah that's right) nailed the comedy side. The Program, Friday Night Lights, and Varsity Blues nailed the harsh reality behind the game. Brian's Song, Rudy and Remember the Titans nailed the dramatic/underdog/inspiring aspect of the sport. Any Given Sunday is on the level of these, probably in the top three, taking the story lines of most professional football teams and weaving them into one of the best football movies ever made. Here's a fact, anyone who didn't enjoy any one of the above movies doesn't know football from their asshole (ok so Little Giants may be a bit out of place, but f u anyway). Plus, The Program has the single best scene in film history:




The thing about the class of The Program, Friday Night Lights and Varsity Blues (as well as the story lines in AGS of The Shark (aptly played LT) and Cap Rooney) movies is that they capture the essence of the game and the underbelly that no one wants to think about. To truly appreciate it you need to have been around the game and understand how it can consume one's life to that degree. There's the love of the game and there's the ego that sometimes consumes that love (although I'd argue that the love of the game is intertwined or lies in the subconscious of the out of control ego). Anyway, to wrap this up, Friday Night Lights captures the harsh reality of football in the South and the attempts of the kids who play the game to deal with celebrity at 16, 17, 18 and not lose the love of the game. Football in the south is taken as seriously as a college program and winning is the bottom line, losing is utterly unacceptable.
Dems da facts. In Varsity Blues the movie we see the love of the game and the essence of team win out over an out of control ego (Jon Voight) and it reminds us of the existence of this underlying love (which I think is what Voight is reflecting on when he's in his office alone staring at his trophies after Dawson takes his team away from him).

To be fair Bill Simmons is correct in saying FNL is the best sports TV series ever made. Also to be fair, that title is like winning a gold medal at the special Olympics. Also, has he ever heard of Coach? What more could be done with this? I gave FNL the show a chance because I loved the movie. It turned out to be a knock off of the movie with a few plot twists. The first few episodes, all good, I was feeling it, but then after a few more I could tell what was coming at every point. I'm not talking major points, I'm talking every single thing that happened I could tell it was coming, the show was predictable. It would be one thing if it was predictable and something not seen before, but it was FNL the movie with crappier acting. Simmons is correct in saying that it is extremely realistic, but he ignores the fact that it's completely predictable if you've seen any of the above mentioned movies. He also cites it is award winning, but hell SportsNight won awards too, and that show sucked ass.

Bottom line: FNL the series proves that you can indeed have too much of a good thing. Some things give you just enough and don't need to be expanded upon and that is the fault of this show. Maybe I expected too much from it, like Hot Fuzz on the tail of Shaun of the Dead, and don't get me wrong, I still enjoy an episode here and there because I do enjoy football and the reality that comes with it. However, I wouldn't be saddened to see it go because I could go out and rent The Program and be happy with my life.