There's this TV show that you might have heard of called Friday Night Lights. You might have heard that it's about about a high school football team from this tiny town in Texas that is made up of people who are really into football and God. Which sounds absolutely terrible, right? Except that it's sfg. And I mean seriously, seriously, sfg. With many hours to kill at the Philadelphia airport I made the happy mistake of watching the first episode and haven't been able to stop. I am enamored with most of the characters (except you, Lyla), everything about it reminds me of Alliance, and even football can seem epic when it's played against a backdrop of Explosions in the Sky.

One of my favorite things about this show is that it captures so well how absolutely crushing life in high school can feel. A large difference between the way I handled trying situations then and the way I do now is that I am always very aware now that things get better. It seems simple enough, but I remember feeling many times during high school (what with moving, breakups, deaths, and parental issues) that improvement was nearly impossible. So I guess that's maturity?

Anyway, the first season is the bomb dot com, and although the second season isn't nearly as good it does boast Tim Riggins buying flowers while Devendra Banhart croons (swoon swoon swoon). It's funny and sweet and poignant and perfectly summery.