'Friday Night Lights' creator to Mitt Romney: Quit 'plagiarizing' our catchphrase

Mitt Romney is a big fan of "Friday Night Lights," the cult hit TV show about the football-crazed town of Dillon, Texas and the people who live in it. Romney's own Facebook banner features Coach Taylor's immortal words, "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose," and the former governor has posed for photos beneath a campaign banner bearing the catchphrase. But maybe not for much longer.

The Hollywood Reporter published Berg's letter to the Romney campaign, in which the show's creator claims that Romney's use of the "Friday Night Light's" catchphrase "falsely and inappropriately associates" the show with the Republican's campaign.

I created the TV show "Friday Night Lights" and came up with the phrase "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose." I was not thrilled when 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.

Ouch.

Berg goes so far as to say that Romney's ideology doesn't mesh with the show's message, or it's characters:

"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," he wrote (Vulture would disagree. Their analysis of "FNL" characters' political affiliations cites seven who could be Romney fans).

Berg's cousin, however, is Buzz Bissinger, the man who wrote the non-fiction book that inspired the TV show. Bissinger recently endorsed Romney in an editorial for The Daily Beast.