Permian’s quarterback, Mike Winchell is a talented passer with a love for the game. But Winchell, whose father died when he was a young boy, is often beset by worry when he is on the field, and occasionally his anxiety keeps him from throwing the ball accurately. Winchell is not recruited out of high school, but briefly plays football as a walk-on at Baylor, a university in Waco, Texas.
Mike Winchell Quotes in Friday Night Lights
The Friday Night Lights quotes below are all either spoken by Mike Winchell or refer to Mike Winchell. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4: Dreaming of Heroes
Quotes
After Billy died, Mike’s life didn’t get any easier. He had a brother who was sent to prison for stealing. At home he lived with his mother, who worked at a service station convenience store as a clerk. They didn’t have much money. . . . His mother was enormously quiet and reserved, almost like a phantom. Coach Gaines, who spent almost as much time dealing with parents as he did with the players, had never met her.
Related Characters:
Buzz Bissinger (speaker), Gary Gaines, Mike Winchell
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12: Civil War
Quotes
How could he have called the plays he did? What had happened to him in the second half, going time and time again with those plodding, thudding sweeps? Didn’t he remember the gorgeous bomb Winchell had thrown in the second quarter, so perfect it was like something in a dream? . . . .
Related Characters:
Buzz Bissinger (speaker), Gary Gaines, Mike Winchell
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mike Winchell Character Timeline in Friday Night Lights
The timeline below shows where the character Mike Winchell appears in Friday Night Lights. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue
Mike Winchell, the quarterback for the team, remarks to himself—as Bissinger reports—that he wishes he could...
(full context)
...scores again, going up 22-21, and though Permian mounts several drives to retake the lead, Winchell cannot manage to lead the team back into the end zone. Permian loses the October...
(full context)
Chapter 2: The Watermelon Feed
...all seniors, are introduced, to shouts of MOJO in the crowd. Although some players, like Winchell, seem uncomfortable in the spotlight of the Feed, others, like Boobie, soak in the applause...
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Chapter 3: Boobie
...in him. Boobie is an agile, quick, explosive runner, and many on the team, including Winchell and Jerrod McDougal, say he’s “the best player they’ve ever seen.” Boobie’s uncle, LV, acts...
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...that, once Boobie is ruled out for the first part of the ’88 season, quarterback Mike Winchell realizes that a good deal of the team’s offensive pressure will now fall on...
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Chapter 4: Dreaming of Heroes
Bissinger recounts in brief the life story of Mike Winchell, Permian’s starting quarterback. Mike’s father, Billy, died when Mike was thirteen—Billy had been injured...
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Mike became the Panthers’ starting QB when he was a junior. He was a talented passer,...
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Chapter 6: The Ambivalence of Ivory
...game stays close, then Marshall goes up, 13-12, with only one possession left for Permian. Winchell leads his team up the field, but is unable to convert near the end zone,...
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Chapter 10: Boobie Who?
Briefly, at the close of the chapter, Bissinger notes that Winchell has had a very strong beginning of the season, especially in the Abilene game, where...
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Chapter 12: Civil War
After the loss to Midland Lee, the players are devastated. Winchell worries that he has lost the game for his team, and Chavez and McDougal are...
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Chapter 16: Field of Dreams
...and effort. The game is in Austin, in December, and it is wet and icy. Winchell before the kickoff, worries that the wet grass and cold weather will give him a...
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The game begins, and Winchell’s prediction seems accurate. He cannot get much momentum offensively, and though Chris Comer scores first...
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...closes this part of the book with a scene of trainers removing the names of Winchell, Chavez, Christian, and others from the lockers, preparing to post up new names, for the...
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Epilogue
...plays a little college football and reflects positively on his experiences with the Permian team. Winchell walks on at Baylor, after having been refused a scholarship to play D-1 football, but...
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