The real James "Boobie" Miles can be seen standing next to Derek Luke (playing "Boobie" Miles) several times throughout the film. He is wearing a black Permian jacket and hat.
The real-life Brian Chavez did go to Harvard and got a law degree. But then he moved back to Odessa and started going to Permian football games with one of his old teammates, longing for his old glory days on the field. One day, angered by a historic Permian loss in a heated rivalry game, Chavez rounded up a posse, broke into a house party and started brawling with the attendants. His motivation: His girlfriend's ex-husband was at the party, and had been fighting with her over the phone while Chavez was trying to watch the game. Chavez was eventually forced to plead guilty to "burglary with intent to commit assault", and had to settle lawsuits with the victims. Although he avoided jail time, he did have his law license invalidated by the Texas State Bar. He has since turned his life around, but this incident had ultimately proved that the pull of Permian high school football was too much for even the smartest and most grounded player to escape.
Coach Gary Gaines said he would have never allowed a parent to yell at their son like Tim McGraw's character (Charles Billingsley) did during practice.
Frustrated with the authenticity of some actors playing assistant coaches, director Peter Berg turned to actual Permian High School coaches to deliver some lines during game sequences.
Derek Luke, who played high school player James "Boobie" Miles, was actually 30 years old during filming. In the movie, he is portrayed as a teenager.