“Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose.” Just reading those words is enough to give us chills. We picture Coach Taylor in the the Dillon Panthers’ locker room, delivering a heartfelt speech that will inspire his team to come back from behind and win the big game. So we understand why Mitt Romney, a self-proclaimed fan of the show, would want to co-opt the phrase. Not so understanding: Friday Night Lights creator Peter Berg. In fact, he’s written the GOP candidate a letter that accuses him of plagiarism.
“I was not thrilled when I saw that you have plagiarized this expression to support your campaign by using it on posters, your Facebook page and as part of your stump speeches,” Berg writes in the angry missive. “Your politics and campaign are clearly not aligned with the themes we portrayed in our series.”
But wait, it gets better: “The only relevant comparison that I see between your campaign and Friday Night Lights is in the character of Buddy Garrity — who turned his back on American car manufacturers selling imported cars from Japan.” Now that’s a zinger. Head over to the Hollywood Reporter to read the letter in full.