From Criminal to Citizen: East Dillon Football Saves Vince Howard

 In the opening scene of the fourth season of Friday Night Lights, radio commentator Slammin' Sammy Mead proclaims, "The sky is dry, the fields are brown, the drought is long and it has happened. This town has been divided." Once again, there will be two high schools and two football teams in Dillon, Texas. After much gerrymandering to preserve the Dillon Panthers, Coach Taylor must succeed with a rag tag bunch of outcasts making up his football team. One of the key players will be Vince Howard and the viewers first glimpse of Vince is only a few minutes into the first episode of season four as he is running shirtless away from a police car and multiple officers. Coach Taylor is introduced to Vince Howard (who arrives in a sherrif's car) after a disappointing first practice with the East Dillon Lions. One of the deputies steps out and chats with Coach Taylor about the deputy's brother (a former player for Taylor) and the deputy asks Taylor if he knows about the Cops and Jocks program, which Taylor recognizes as a second chance program. The deputy explains that Vince's next stop is juvie if he doesn't succeed in the program. After introducing himself to Coach Taylor, Vince promises to be at practice at 6 sharp, which for Coach Taylor means a quarter to 6. With that conversation, Vince is on the team and a path to redemption. And, the town is on its way to healing racial and economic divisions through the East Dillon Lions and Vince's right arm.

For an individual to be a citizen, they must be a part of the public sphere, which "implies participation in a broader public culture and the nurturing of a sense of cohesiveness, common identity and belonging. The political functions of the public sphere, it is argued, could not be fulfilled unless people feel that they have a stake in society and their engagement is worthwhile." (Hodkinson, p. 176-177) In the United States, sports is seen as an arena where any individual can find their place within society. In reality and in mediated form, sports has been viewed as bringing together communities and in shaping a common identity built on perseverance, determination, and overcoming obstacles; sports offer a space where the American dream can be realized. During the show's many seasons, there are multiple characters who gain a sense of identity and belonging through sports. Vince Howard, though, gains the most because of football.

Vince Howard's rise from criminal to citizen through football is not seamless. Instead, the show outlines the hardships Vince faces and the difficult choices that a young teenager with a drug addicted mother goes through. During season four, Vince accepts money from a local drug dealer to pay for his mother's drug rehab. Vince is sucked back into crime, but cannot stand the violence and refuses to follow through. Through football, Vince becomes a better man and leader. During one interaction with Coach Taylor, Vince's growth as a person is highlighted and the coach lauds him for his ability to work hard and persevere to become a better person. Before kickoff of the state championship game (and the final episode of the series), Coach Taylor kneels down in front of Vince and states, "You may never know how proud I am of you." Vince's response: "You changed my life, Coach." And, with that, everything has been said. Together they have realized the dream of success and saved one another.

Friday Night Lights offers viewers an opportunity to see the American dream come true and thus unites individuals around a common identity and narrative. Through sports (and football in particular), any individual who works hard, perseveres, and takes advantage of opportunities can belong within society as a citizen. The story goes within FNL that football can teach an individual the discipline, responsibility, and leadership to become a productive member of a team and of society. For Vince, he goes from on the road to juvie to star football player on his way to college. Because of his participation and by learning many critical public values, Vince now has opportunities that economics once prevented him from having. And, for Dillon, the East Dillon Lions' success reunites a town divided by racial and economic divisions. They once again love the Lions and economics and race cannot hold any one back.