Team Spirit & Camraderie

No, today's Blog is not about favourite Christmas songs (but thanks for the idea, Kathleen - look for that in the near future!!)

Now that I finally have another Friday Night Lights fan on board, here's an FNL update. (Enjoy, Kenny!)

It's been awhile since I wrote about my new favourite show, so here's your catch-up: In recent weeks, Jason figured out that his best friend, Tim, was sneaking around with his girlfriend, Lyla, and in the last episode, he confronted the two of them about it. Lyla left in tears, and Tim left with a black eye. It was good to see Jason fight back, even though he's in a wheelchair. Meanwhile, that new favourite boy of mine, Matt Sarracen, was trying to woo the coach's daughter, Julie, while her parents were encouraging her to steer clear of football players.

So on Tuesday night, poor ol' Tim Riggins was having a rough time. Rumour had spread regarding his black eye, and his teammates suspected he had fought with Jason. Some of the guys visited Street at the rehab centre, and they coerced him into admitting that he suspected something was going on between Tim & Lyla, and that he had punched Tim. Because all the guys are still loyal to their fallen quarterback, they ganged up on Tim. When he arrived home one night, they emerged from the shadows with baseball bats and smashed his truck up while he cowered inside the cab. Then, the next day, while he was trying to fix his truck up, his on-again-off-again girlfriend Tyra showed up and slapped him across the face.

The strange part is this: While I don't approve of what Tim & Lyla did, and I completely understand everyone's anger and resentment over what happened, somehow I still feel very sorry for Riggins. I think he was so lost and confused and scared after Jason's accident, and the only person who understood how he was feeling was Lyla, because she was just as lost and confused and scared. They turned to each other for comfort, and it went too far, but I hope Jason is able to forgive them, because I think they really do regret their secret liasions. They never intended to hurt thim, and they love Jason too much for this to be the end.

Perhaps the most poignant moment of the night was during the football game, when the Panthers were in need of a spark, and the coach threw Riggins back into the game. After all that had happened, one might have thought his teammates would hang him out to dry, but instead, they rallied behind him and they went on to win the game. It was an amazing demonstration of team spirit and camraderie.

Of course, my FNL recap would not be complete without mentioning my boy Matt Sarracen. The boy is so sweet and wonderful. After Julie finally agreed to go out with him, Matt went to his buddy Landry looking for advice on how to impress her. Of course, Landry told him all the wrong things - to be cool, to act like the quarterback, to strutt his stuff. Just when it looked like Julie was ready to ditch his cocky ass, Matt got a call from Landry, who was at Matt's place taking care of his grandmother. You see, Matt's grandmother is sick - while it's never really been explained, it appears she's suffering from Alzheimer's, and with Matt's dad overseas fighting in Iraq, Matt has been left to care for her alone.

Something had gone wrong, and Matt's grandma had locked herself in a closet, and Landry couldn't get her to come out. So Matt and Julie had to go back to his place so that he could calm his grandma down. When Matt heard his grandmother crying in the closet and begging for her dead husband, Matt deepened his voice and pretended he was his grandfather, asking her to come out. Then he sang "Mr. Sandman" to her, twirled her around, and tucked her into bed, all the while still acting as if he was his grandfather.

I'm telling you, this scene just about broke my heart. It was so unsettling and awkward, with Julie and Landry watching it all in disbelief, and seeing the joy in Matt's grandma's eyes when she thought her husband had come back to care for her. And for the viewers there was the realization that this wasn't the first time Matt had to pretend to be his dead grandfather to bring his grandma peace...Absolutely heart-wrenching. To think that one teenage boy has such a huge responsibility, such a burden in his life, but because she's his grandmother, he has no choice but to be there for her. It's no wonder Matt always seems so troubled and nervous about everything. My dear Lord, I adore him...And I think Julie does too, despite her tentativeness. When he kissed her after the game, she ran away, but judging from next week's scenes, Julie won't be running for long.

The other big storyline this week was that Smash took the money his church raised for him and used it to buy stereoids to enhance his performance on the field. Going up against one of his childhood friends in his old hometown, he was feeling the pressure, and had a scare when he had trouble breathing while working out before the game. He ended up telling his sister that he's been taking "uppers", and I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before Smash's secret comes out, and then there will be hell to pay. We also got a little insight into Smash's life this week, as we learned that the reason his family moved to Dillon was get away from the bad memories in the town where his father died. Smash is a lot like Riggins - there's so many reasons to hate him, but I can't help but sympathize with him. It will be interesting to see what happens next...

This show really is the best new show on TV this year. It's so awesome, I'm already planning to buy it on DVD if it ever comes out. You guys should all check it out!! SERIOUSLY!!

Have a good weekend, gang!