I just finished watching the series finale of Friday Night Lights. Now, this is a show I’ve always been behind on. Jennifer (my wife) caught up on the first four seasons…I’ve watched most of season 1 so far. But when she started watching season 5 on NBC this year, I just watched it with her. She explained things along the way, but I still have a lot of episodes to watch. Episodes that are only going to make what I saw in season 5 and in tonight’s finale mean even more.
And that’s saying something because, well, there are two shows that are permanently on my list as the best I’ve ever watched. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and LOST. And based only on what I’ve seen so far - and what I saw tonight (which might very well be the best series finale I’ve ever seen) - now there’s a third.
I love football. But Friday Night Lights isn’t really about football. It’s about family. It’s about love. It’s about sacrifice and honor and heart. It’s about the best portrayal of a marriage I’ve ever seen - on tv or in the movies. It’s about Texas and every small town in America. It’s about dreams.
It’s about life. All of it - the good and the bad. And how we need each other - we need our families - our husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, children, grandparents, girlfriends, boyfriends, friends, team, town - however you define that word - we need our families to make our lives mean something.
