Somebody should tell Mack Brown he really cannot act, no matter how hard he tries or what the stage is. I’m sure the statement came straight out of left field for most of you, but if you saw NBC’s pilot of “Friday Night Lights” last year you know what I’m talking about.

Brown, head coach of the Texas Longhorns football team, makes a cameo as himself, but as an overbearing, cliché-spitting crazy man. Wait, I think I’ve written that description before. But I digress.

Ever since the movie “Friday Night Lights” came out, from the book of the same name written by H.G. Bissinger about the rabid following of high school football in a small Texas town, NBC jumped on the chance to adapt the story into a bankable primetime hit.

Then “Heroes” happened.

Granted, the juggernaut show about ordinary people with extraordinary powers became the sleeper hit of last year’s television season and one of few shows with such a strong following, a la “Lost”, “24”, “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy”.

Unfortunately, “Lights” found its niche in a very loyal fan base, which is basically a death sentence for most network television shows. Just ask “Arrested Development”.

After the first half of the fall season, it was still up in the air whether or not the network would bring “Lights” back for the remaining 10 episodes to finish the first season, while “Heroes” was already marketing the “Save the cheerleader, save the world” phrase on every corner of the planet.

For the record, let me say “Heroes” is one of the best and most immersive shows that has been put on television. But as a sports fan and avid television watcher, “Lights” strikes a much deeper chord than possibly any other show on television.

How many of us can relate to a Friday night, sitting in the stands, watching a game that is the ultimate human drama. Us versus them, good versus evil. A group of strangers united for the cause.

Although the thought of having super powers is an awesome idea – for the record, I would have to be the cop that reads people’s minds – we are “Lights”, except for the handsomely paid actor part. People with real problems, ideas and values that are held on to – like a football on a Friday night.

I bought the first season on DVD because I was only able to watch one or two episodes in a row, and was lost in the storyline. I, like some others, thought the show would be about strictly football and not much else.

Instead I found what pulled me into sports in the first place: one team’s quest to find its identity while jumping over hurdle after hurdle of egotism, selfishness and instability, only to figure it out right at the end.

I implore you, or rather dare you, to rent, buy or download the first episode and watch with an open mind. If you buy it and still don’t like it, you can return it and get your money back. It makes me wonder how many Saints fans would like refunds on their season ticket orders.

I wanted to watch the first episode of season two but I was unable to because of work. But I can tell you this, if I am ever home on a Friday night, I will definitely make sure to keep the “Lights” on. Hopefully NBC will too.