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History Of MojoLand

BACKGROUND & HISTORY

The MojoLand® website came into existence in 1996, as a response to Buzz Bissinger’s ‘Friday Night Lights’ book. I felt there were several bent truths and sensationalized information in the book. Being a graduate of Permian, I found portions of the book to be exaggerated. Hence the creation of MojoLand®.

The site began as a personal web page. It consisted of a news page, roster, schedule, coaching staff, and playoff history of the football team. In 1998, the Ector County Independent School District was in its Phase Two of becoming internet friendly and having a site originating from its campuses. Along the way, more and more features to the MojoLand® site would evolve.

The ECISD finally got on track and launched their own site, which included the district’s full athletic department. In 2000, MojoLand® would yield to the school district site and re-focus on the football athletes and their achievements during and after dawning the Panthers uniform.

The production of ‘Friday Night Lights – the Movie’ began in March of 2004 and I had an inside track. MojoLand® was the only website on the internet with daily updates and photos, as I was directly involved cast as a Permian assistant coach. The inside scoop afforded MojoLand® to top One Million internet visitors a month for most of 2004-05.

In 2006, the website featured the first internet-based virtual museum in the nation that was dedicated to a high school football program and its history.

MojoLand® celebrated its Black, White, and Silver anniversary after an unprecedented year of Covid surprises in 2020.  Through the many highs and lows, I have enjoyed corresponding with several of you over the past 25 years.

*Due to health and financial matters, I have officially announced that 2023 will be my last year reporting on the achievements of our Permian athletes and sports programs.  In order to subsidize some of the web hosting costs, in addition to the mounting doctor bills and medicines, I am now offering my collected Mojo Memorabilia (and a few others) on the PermianSports.com website.

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MojoLand Global Recognition

NEWS MEDIA REVIEWS

  • “Widely regarded as one of the best of its kind because of its wealth of information & impressive graphics interface. “Mojoland®” leads a booming trend in high school football sites.”
    – Mike Finger, The Associated Press
       
  • “MojoLand® – Championship site better than some college & pro sites”
    – David King, San Antonio Express-News
       
  • “Killer site… Enhanced graphics and the attention to detail, make MojoLand® one of the most dazzling sites around.”
    – Tommy Cummings, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
          
  • “A Masterpiece… The MojoLand® Museum puts every other high school’s team page to shame.”
    – Jake Shaw, Managing Editor of Texas Football
      
  • “The most researched Texas High School football on the internet.”
    – Brett Tulloss, Rockwall Texas Success
      
  • “It took but one visit… to say the least, MojoLand® is loaded.”
    – Gregory Gaussa, FOXSports.com
      
  • “There’s a very impressive amount of useful content. MojoLand® resembles the sites found on our College network.”
    – Jeremy Briggs, Rivals.com
        
  • “MojoLand® – The state’s most-in-depth sports site”
    – David King, MySA.com
      

WEBSITE AWARDS

  • MojoLand® was announced as the 2004 ‘Site of the Year’.  Selected as top site in the 9th Annual Golden Ace Awards, the awards are one of the oldest and most respected web awards on the internet.  Labeled “The most highly touted site of the year”, past ‘Site of the Year’ award winners include:  About.com (2003), The Sporting News (2002), and eBay (2001).  Based on overall artistic creativity and useful content, sites are graded on consistency, continuity, artistic skills, artistic design, originality, creativity, organization, and moral structure. The site exhibits design excellence, content value, and consistency that sets it apart from all others.
      
  • Awarded the Webthrower.com Silver Award.  “You met all of our criteria to win the “Silver Award” with a high score of 80. We wish you much success in your endeavors with MojoLand®.  Thanks for helping make the Web a more interesting and attractive place to visit.  Our compliments on a job well done!”
    -Jeff Thrower (webthrower.com)
      
  • Awarded the Golden Web Award in recognition of its creativity, integrity and excellence by the International Association of Webmasters and Designers.
       
  • Top Ten Finalist in the prestigious Sports Site of the Year Award by the members of the AAGD (Association of American Graphic Designers)! 
      
  • Winner of the PAT Award, honoring web sites reporting the Best Youth Football Information and Coverage.  Five consecutive years from 2005-09.
     
  • “Only 1 in 100 nominations score high enough to receive this award,  placing your site in the top 5% of all sites currently on the Net.  From an artistic standpoint, the Eye Candy Awards remain the most prestigious form of recognition on the Web.”
      
  • Ren Sports‘ Prep Football:  MojoLand® site receives 4-Star Rating
       
  • Creative and full of content!!!   Congratulations on winning the “Sports News International Network Award“.  Your site offers is a great and useful Service to the Internet community.
       
  • After reviewing the MojoLand® site, we are pleased to announce and present you with the Market-Tek Design Award.
    -John Skorczewski,President, Market-Tek

     

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Over The Hump – Motivational Quotes

An installment of motivational and inspirational quotes from athletes and coaches that have made their mark in the world of Sports.  Their successes are a testament of what can be achieved with proper mindset and hard work.

“It’s not the will to win that matters… everyone has that.
It’s the will to Prepare to Win that matters.”
– Paul “Bear” Bryant  (Football Coach – University of Alabama)

“What to do with a mistake… Recognize it, Admit it, Learn from it, and Forget it!”
– Dean Smith (Basketball Coach NC-Chapel Hill)
“The difference between the Impossible and the Possible lies in a person’s Determination.”
– Tommy Lasorda (Coach Los Angeles Dodgers)
“Most people fail not because of lack of desire, but because of lack of commitment.”
– Vince Lombardi (Coach Green Bay Packers)
“Nobody who ever Gave Their Best regretted it.”
– George Halas  (Founder, Owner, & Coach Chicago Bears)
“Control what you can control. Don’t worry about what you can’t!”
– J.J. Watt  (Houston Texans Defensive End)
“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes Character to stay there.”
– John Wooden  (Hall of Fame NCAA Basketball Coach)
“There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work any harder than you.”
– Derek Jeter  (New York Yankees Shortstop)
“How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.”
– Lou Holtz  (NCAA Football Player & Coach)
“Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practice, and the coaches who have pushed you, is someone who fell in love with the game and never looked back.”
– Mia Hamm  (Gold Medal Olympian Soccer)
“An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.”
– Emil Zatopek  (Gold Medal Olympian Runner)
“Don’t Let What You Cannot Do Interfere With What You Can Do!”
– John Wooden  (Hall of Fame NCAA Basketball Coach)
“Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears.”
– Laird Hamilton  (Profession Surfer)
“What you lack in talent can be made up with Desire, Hustle, and Giving 110 percent all the time.”
– Don Zimmer  (MLB Infielder & Manager)
“The five S’s of sports training are: Stamina, Speed, Strength, Skill, and Spirit… but the greatest of these is Spirit (attitude).”
– Ken Doherty  (Pro Snooker Champion)
“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”
– Vince Lombardi  (NFL Green Bay Coach)
“First become a winner in life. Then it’s easier to become a winner on the field.”
– Tom Landry  (NFL Dallas Coach)