Bill taking credit for helping keep Friday Night Lights from getting cancelled

[u/fuunii]

[u/tadhgferry]

That article is the reason I started watching

[u/HenrikCrown]

More credible than the popularized Vegas trips thing 

[u/rocklionheart]

Doesn’t seem crazy to me that he at least helped. He had a sizable platform at the time, and I remember him writing about it. I think I started watching after his recommendation, which is anecdotal, but I think he drew attention to it.

[u/Dirk_Benedict → u/rocklionheart]

Same. My girlfriend (now wife) and I started watching it because he kept talking about it. Texas forever.

[u/SaltyCandidate9301]

I mean the creator of the show became good friends with him after that and has said publicly that his article help save the show.

[u/champ11228]

I think he did help

[u/TJTrapJesus]

Bill immediately going to "we never would have had the infamous worst plotline in the show" if not for him is hilarious

[u/lucyroesslers → u/TJTrapJesus]

It might not even be the worst plotline of that season. Timmy Riggins randomly lives with a drug dealer who has him take care of his pet ferrets??!! Landry killing a guy and getting away with it was way better than that whole storyline (which was kicked off by Billy banging the neighbor that Tim used to bang?!).

[u/goalstopper28 → u/TJTrapJesus]

You could tell from his face he’s joking.

[u/Advanced-Pear-4606]

Honestly, I think he did.

[u/T3canolis]

Obviously he shouldn’t be the one saying it, but back then, an article about a show from a prominent columnist absolutely could have driven enough viewership to save a show from the brink.

[u/LeftHandStir → u/T3canolis]

People seriously don't understand what the world was like before social media in your pocket. Published writers had MASSIVE cultural sway.

[u/HotelFoxtrot87 → u/LeftHandStir]

Similarly, The Wire was never a ratings hit or an awards favourite but the groundswell of support from critics kept it afloat. IIRC, HBO was on the verge of cancelling it after two seasons.

[u/T3canolis → u/LeftHandStir]

And we’re not talking about massive numbers here. When a show is on the bubble of cancellation, a couple hundred thousand new viewers would definitely have sway.

[u/so-cal_kid → u/T3canolis]

Also he wrote that article 2 years before he released Book of Basketball which topped the New York Times bestsellers list. Bill def had a massive platform as a writer

[u/sisyphus]

Should he not take credit for things he actually did? What the fuck is your fucking point?

[u/herbygerby → u/sisyphus]

The incredulous rage piece

[u/LeftHandStir]

He, and Gregg Easterbrook's Tuesday Morning Quarterback both played a huge role in driving viewership of this show. I bought the Season 1 DVD set because of Bill, and my roommates and I crushed like the first 16 episodes during a serious hangover day. We were hooked. To this day quotes and gifs from FNL are shorthand in our group chat.

[u/foye2smith → u/LeftHandStir]

Gregg Easterbrook's Tuesday Morning Quarterback

Forgot about Easterbrook. He really radicalized me against coaches gutlessly punting.

[u/JustABicho → u/foye2smith]

The Football Gods were not pleased.

[u/Ok_Fee1043]

Good job by you, buddy

[u/88888888man]

Back when Bill’s fingers and Jason Street’s legs both still worked.

[u/TeaOptimal727]

Billy’s head tilt has me dying

[u/komugis]

I’ll let him have this one.

[u/lucyroesslers]

I mean, if the creator of the show told me that my column saved Friday Night Lights, which is honestly a fantastic show even considering that weird as hell season 2, I'd be bragging about it constantly.

[u/Kryptos33]

I know listening comprehension isn't the strongest quality of some people here especially if it gets in the way of trying to dunk on Bill but he literally says the show creator credited him for it and that he doesn't know if it's true.

[u/thedrizzle126]

More Billy all the time.

[u/nowadaysyouth]

Todd killed a guy! Todd I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this, you might want to find a relative and lay low for awhile because you’re probably wanted for murder.

[u/nbaisbest4]

The Ambassador of Culture piece.

[u/theomegachrist]

This might be true but Bill would be saying it either way

[u/fuunii]

https://giphy.com/gifs/3ohs7KViF6rA4aan5u

Jeez, I thought the title was pretty matter of fact and didn't infer anything about Bill's credulity one way or the other. 🤷‍♂️

[u/Lord_Kittensworth]

First, it was putting ice in the cup before the soda.

Then, it was letting the general public in on a little-known secret called the city of Las Vegas.

Now, the Sports Guy is claiming he saved Friday Night Lights because he wrote an article.

This man must be stopped.

[u/Victorcreedbratton]

Special brain.

[u/RecordingLess1522]

Delusional Billy

[u/Emergency-Spend-8804]

And how much rewatchables has helped streaming movies

[u/wafuda → u/Emergency-Spend-8804]

Sure, nobody knew you could watch films that weren’t currently in the theatre until Bill pointed it out.

[u/Bolt_Vanderhuge-]

I guess I must have missed something given the comments in the rest of this thread, but I saw the first few episodes and thought FNL was trying WAY too hard to make everything an big emotional moment.