Buzz Bissinger: Friday Night Lights Proves How Serious Sports Is in Our Culture

We've talked a lot about the journalist and Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger in these parts the last couple of months, and for the most part it's been to say that his anti-blog rants are stupid and unbecoming of such an accomplished writer.

But in his long Q&A with Will Leitch at Deadspin, Bissinger made one point that's worth considering. After Leitch said he doesn't think sports should be treated with seriousness, Bissinger said:

We just disagree on a lot of fundamental things. Obviously, the biggest is that sports should not be treated with seriousness. I think Friday Night Lights proves the point of just how serious sports is in our culture. I think the point you do make, that there are too many articles in the print media that are cliched melodramatic tearjearkers that we have read a million times before, is well-taken. I don't like bloggers in general, but too many sportswriters just never get up off their butts and truly delve into subjects. And what comes out is tired autopilot journalese.

Friday Night Lights is a serious exploration of the impact that sports have on one town, and it's the best exploration of high school sports I've ever read. There's a place for sites like Deadspin that don't take sports seriously, but that doesn't mean no one should take sports seriously.