Chavez, Brian Jose 2009-05-04
Brian Jose Chavez talks about his life, education, and career, but mainly about the period when he was on the Odessa Permian High School Football Team. Chavez was one of three players profiled in H. G. “Buzz” Bissinger’s book Friday Night Lights and the subsequent movie by the same name.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Brian Jose Chavez
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: May 04, 2009
Location: Odessa, Texas
Interviewer: Daniel Sanchez
Length: 01:26:39
Abstract
Background; Born in El Paso, Texas; Background of family; Parents have post graduate degrees; Father was an attorney; Mother was a principal; Education; El Paso; Attended predominately Hispanic school in El Paso, Texas; Moved to a predominately Anglo school in Odessa, Texas; Racism at school; Self-realization; His journey to acceptance; Football; Memories of playing with his brother; Sports impact on racial boundaries; Pop Warner Football; Permian Junior Varsity (JV) spring training; Permian JV; Popularity of Permian football in Odessa; Personal experiences; Junior year; Playoffs; Athletics and Academics; Odessa Permian; Smartest one on team; Able to play multiple positions; Accolades received; Harvard University; Differences in Permian and Harvard football; Intramurals at Harvard; Harvard intimidating at beginning; Competition amongst different classes at Permian; Envied the following year’s team for going undefeated, winning the Texas State and the mythical national titles; Lost envy because of the book and movie; Wanted to play a state championship game; Selection of college; How he was motivated for going to Harvard; Making of the book; Applying for Harvard; Racism at Harvard; Identity crisis; Race to fit in; Increased sense of being Mexican-American; Took classes at University of Texas; Proud of his culture; Experience at UT; Great to be at regular school; Rugby; Texas Tech University School of Law; Tech is the local big university; Lubbock and Odessa; Both similar but Odessa experiences less segregation; Closing Comments; About family; Career.
Access Information
Original Recording Format:
Recording Format Notes:
Transcript: Transcript available on Dspace
https://swco-ir.tdl.org/handle/10605/1438
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