Recently Friday Night Lights wrapped up its final season and said good-bye to many fans. I could tell you about how I got something in my eye and how it began to water many times as I watched the final show, but just recalling all those emotions would only bring it back and I could lose my man card for that. The series finale truly caught the essence of why so many people fell in love with this amazing show.
It was no secret that the ratings on this show weren't the highest of any TV program, which I believed had to do with what made the show so unique and great. The uniqueness that really made us fall in love with FNL came in two parts, family and football. These two elements had never been woven together before like this for an audience, families were turned off by the moral complexity; whereas sports fans often found the games not very realistic and somewhat way too short. FNL was never really show that viewers could just sit and lounge on the couch and be entertained. This made it very difficult to find a genre to call home only to be loved by dedicated fans that enjoyed that it didn't fit in with other TV shows.
I came to the conclusion that Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and wife Tami (Connie Britton) had one of the best TV marriages of all time (I would place them even above this lovely couple). Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton had a gift for making the audience feel a part of their marriage from their fights, to their love for each other as husband and wife (SPOILER! This is shown in Coach's decisions to follow his wife to her dream job in the series finale) and on top of all that, their inspiring partnership as parents to their daughters and the players. Side note: Both are up for an Emmy, to which I hope they win!
The writing for FNL has always been astonishing, that is, if you don't count the weird murder plot line in season two but, then again who does? It was not surprising to watch an episode full of so much heart that allowed us fans to come full circle. To watch some of the players being interviewed by reporters (in season one we got Jason Street this time around we got Vince), gave the audience a great feeling of nostalgia.
The series finale had Coach and his team going for the state championship, this was a real nail biter (SPOILER! This might of had a lot to do with the fact that the whole game was show in silence only to have us wait in suspense to find out if the Lions had won state or not). The suspense helped deliver the message that it wasn't about whether they won or lost, but about the journey that Coach and the Lions took together. I feel like this reflected even the shows outlook, capping off their finale in the same way, that it wasn't about ratings or awards but the journey that the show and the fans took together these past five seasons. To which we thank you FNL for amazing show and journey it has been. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose.
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