 The team played in the pilot, the Westerby Chaps, is based on the  Austin, Texas area high school Westlake. The colors, logos and team  nickname are all similar. The Westlake football team goes by the  nickname Chaparrals. Westlake has been considered a high school  football powerhouse in Texas in recent years. The incident in which  one of the Panthers players is paralyzed is based in fact on an  incident in which David Edwards, a player for San Antonio Madison,  collided with Coy Aune, a Westlake receiver, in a playoff game with  Peter Berg in attendance.