Sportswriter: Amarillo (Texas) Globe-News

San Angelo has the Concho River and one of the best D-II basketball arenas in the country.

Abilene has great high school football, some very underrated small college football and the family of Joe Allen restaurants.

Again, are West Texas cities for everybody -- no.

But there are a whole lot lot worse places to live and work as a sports writer than Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland-Odessa, Abilene, San Angelo, etc.

 

To jump back to the beginning of the thread, Permian's region is also significantly tougher that it was during the FNL era. Region I is a massive geographic span that includes El Paso, all of the big West Texas 5A schools as well as the western half of the Metroplex. This includes schools like Southlake Carroll and Euless Trinity, and, after the most recent realignment, the massive Plano and Allen school districts.

Every region has its strong schools (Katy, Converse Judson, Dallas Skyline), but Region I has most of the high-profile 5A football schools.

As for West Texas, it takes a certain kind of person to live there. But those who enjoy a little isolation, a ton of weird weather and a fierce loyalty to a town and lifestyle can really find a niche in any of the towns out there.

 

Cowshitistan been berra, berra good to me.

 

I didn't know about Jon Mark's move. My mistake ... but he's still a great guy.

dargan, why so much hatred for the guys out West, man? I'm with you on this: Friday Night Lights was pure and utter crap -- the movie and the book. You could apply that story to pretty much any big (or small) football school in the state. But Bissinger wrote about Mojo, and that's how it ended up. Regardless, it still is a solid program and had a good shot at a state title last year.

The football is definitely better in the Metroplex, East and Southeast Texas nowadays ... but Permian HAS won a title since 1937

 

I like the book and the movie. I don't like the TV show.

I have no clue what 1937 has to do with anything.

I don't know what this "hatred" talk is either.

 

I'm just giving ya' a hard time.

 

I know, dude. Some people don't get it, though.

 

don't get what? that every paper in west texas kicks the holy fucking shit out of like-sized papers on the east side? i've been to texas, my friend, and your "east side is everything" mentality is fucking child-like.

what are you, like 21? do you even have a clue of what makes a paper solid?

 

i do, tom.

 

you're not 21.

 

i was once.

 

but i'm guessing you learned a thing or two about the business in the meantime.

i get sick of people beating on west texas without having the first clue about, well, anything.