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On Friday, I, an unwashed Yankee, had the great good fortune of being invited by a close friend to come visit his hometown, stay over at his parents’ home, and go out to watch the "best high school football game you’ll ever see." He was referring, of course, to the match between the Gainesville Red Elephants and the Flowery Branch Falcons in a semifinal game of the 2009 Georgia AAA high school football playoffs.
My friend was right. It was the best high school gridiron match I’ve ever seen. First, the contest itself was spectacular. Gainesville High School’s come-from-behind victory, powered by Blake Sims’ brilliant fourth-quarter drives and A.J. Johnson’s tenacious defense, was an epic battle right to the end.
Perhaps more importantly, I was highly impressed by the hospitality I was shown by the people of Gainesville. Probably because I am easily pegged as an uninitiated but harmless Northerner, the fans in City Park Stadium patiently told me about Bobby Gruhn’s storied career as coach of the Big Red, about how the Red Elephants got their name from an ancient newspaper writer from Atlanta, and how I was watching what was, in their memories, the most momentous football game ever played in the Chicken Capital of the World.
It was great fun. When I called my wife back in Boston on my cell phone after the game, all I could say was, "What a blast! What a BLAST!" I am most grateful to have been given the chance to see that game, and to share a spot in the stands with the great folks of Gainesville.
John N. Levitt
Belmont, Mass.