Book person here.
That tome is still incredible to read today, as it is an account of the Permian HS in Odessa, TX, for a school year, and goes into how everyone there dealt with the religious nature of Texas HS football. Average kids dealing with real dynamics of the insane pressure that 20k attendance for regular season home games and trying to recapture state titles puts on them as they try and grow up like everyone else. In the epilogue, the author notes that things in the district have mellowed and that the extreme level of fervor probably will never be reached again. Permian hasn't won a state title since the early 90s.
Movie was based on the book and cut out a lot of things. There was a nice extra feature where the film makers went and showed where the main players are today as adults.
The show was Berg's attempt to explore all stuff he had to drop from film because he couldn't fit it in. It is more entertaining, and a lot of the things that happened were based on real people and events that happened in Texas. However, since there aren't real names and places, it is harder to know what actually is based in reality, and what writers are making up for compelling drama.
For my money, if there is a movie, it should be based on some other real coaches or players in TX. Especially given that the Taylor's story ended so well.
That tome is still incredible to read today, as it is an account of the Permian HS in Odessa, TX, for a school year, and goes into how everyone there dealt with the religious nature of Texas HS football. Average kids dealing with real dynamics of the insane pressure that 20k attendance for regular season home games and trying to recapture state titles puts on them as they try and grow up like everyone else. In the epilogue, the author notes that things in the district have mellowed and that the extreme level of fervor probably will never be reached again. Permian hasn't won a state title since the early 90s.
Movie was based on the book and cut out a lot of things. There was a nice extra feature where the film makers went and showed where the main players are today as adults.
The show was Berg's attempt to explore all stuff he had to drop from film because he couldn't fit it in. It is more entertaining, and a lot of the things that happened were based on real people and events that happened in Texas. However, since there aren't real names and places, it is harder to know what actually is based in reality, and what writers are making up for compelling drama.
For my money, if there is a movie, it should be based on some other real coaches or players in TX. Especially given that the Taylor's story ended so well.