A really special football game

This story is great. May it replace your memories of yesterday's Cowboys debacle with the warm fuzzies.

Life of Reilly
By Rick Reilly
ESPN The Magazine

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.
It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.
Did you hear that? The other team's fans?
They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.
It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.
"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"
And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.
But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.
This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.
So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."
Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?"
And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."
Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!
"I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"
It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"
Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.
After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."
And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.
As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.
The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."
And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.
Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.
Hope.

A New Year

I have learned not to say things will be better next year. I said it at the end of 2005 after my brother was in Hurricane Katrina and my husband lost his mind. Then in 2006 I got a divorce. Yet I was optimistic that 2007 had to be better. In 2007 my health problems started. I knew not to say it. But in 2008 my Mom has been so sick and has endured so much. So I will not say anything this year about what next year will be like lest I invoke plagues of locusts and famine upon us all.
May your 2009 be blessed by God, fantastic and drama free.
Enough Debbie Downer.

If you are going to ring in 2009 with bubbly, below are some suggestions. Check Veritas to see if they have any left after selling lots at a free tasting yesterday.
NV Schramsberg Mirabelle Rose. From California. 93 from Wine Spectator and around $25. This winery is one I really want to visit.
NV Piper Sonoma Blanc de Blanc. Even those who don't drink bubbly often will probably like this one. It is a bargain at about $17 a bottle.
2005 Domaine Carneros Brut. 92 from Wine Spectator and about $24 a bottle. From the Carneros region at the south end of Napa Valley. I taste a bit of a lemon, but isn't tart.
NV Veuve du Vernay Brut. Unbelievably $13. This French sparkler was not featured at the tasting yesterday, but I had previously picked it up at Veritas. It is really delicious. Maybe the French Bubbles really are different?
There are some other bubbles I really like, but they are a little more expensive, and I have written about them before.
Salud!

Sitcom revisited

If you know these people, please comment. If you don't know what I'm talking about, see entry below regarding sitcom.
GE - James Brolin
JK - Emma Thompson
JJ - Candace Bergen
AH - Winona Ryder
JR - Steve Zahn
CB - Jennifer Lopez (think Wedding Planner JLo)
BW - Jennifer Hudson

The Silver Lining

I am really tired. That so-exhausted-I-am-kinda-weepy tired. Despite not feeling very well, I have had business dinners the past two nights. Thankfully they were with very nice people. The silver lining - I got to eat at two restaurants I have wanted to try on someone else's dime. And, boy, were they good.

Last night we ate at Hattie's in the Bishop Arts District in the OC. First, the area is pretty groovy. I want to go down there when everything is open and check it all out. Second, the space is chic and clean but not cold. I loved the hutch with the old trophies and such. Finally, the food is the center of attention as it should be. It is the kind of food at which my brother (the chef) excels - sophisticated Southern food is what I would call it. I think he calls it contemporary Southern cuisine. Whatever you call it, Hattie's does it well. The tender pork was on a bed of some of the best grits I have ever eaten - and I have eaten a lot of grits! And the greens were sauteed to perfection. Everything about the experience was very nice. (My only quibble was the host / front door guy was quite aloof - such a turn off.)

Tonight we ate at Dallas Fish Market. You should go there. The space was nice and the service was absolutely flawless. Heck, even the valets were nice. Bon Appetit has just named DFM the fifth best seafood restaurant in the country! VERY impressive. The shellfish allergy limited me from the first two courses that came to the table - an amuse bouche of lobster corn bisque and pan fried oysters that looked and smelled so good they made me want to risk the allergic reaction. There were two bubblies by the glass, one from France and from Argentina. We had the Argentinian Brut. It was very good. I wish I had written down the name because it is not on the wine list on their website. We had a difficult time deciding on our entrees. The choices looked fab. Ultimately, PD got the skate mentioned in Bon Appetit piece and I got the swordfish. They were nice pieces of fish, and every flavor and accompaniment accenting them were so complimentary and delicious. We were very pleased. And we saved a little room for dessert. The figs with the cinnamon mascarpone are amazing (I nabbed a bite from PD). I had a lovely coconut lemongrass sorbet.

Now, this tired gal has finished off the bottle of Mylanta by the bed and is going to sleep!

Bon appetit!

Sparkling Shiraz

Someone asked me recently to recommend a reasonably priced sparkling shiraz. I couldn't. I know Veritas has had Black Bubbles (from Shingleback?). I have no idea of the price and don't know if they still have it. She was familiar with that one from imbibing it at said Veritas. I recently read about The Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz, which is from Australia like Shingleback. Looks like it retails for somewhere around $18-$20. Reportedly, not much was imported to the U.S. It has some good reviews online.

So C, maybe you can find it. If you do, let me know!

Your Sitcom

We used to do this fun thing at my last job when we weren't busy (and occasionally when we were). We would cast the sitcom of our office. Some folks were easier than others. TL was Marilu Henner - no question - sexy, sassy, sweet redhead. BM thought he was Jerry Seinfeld; I thought he was Tony Danza. The best we came up with for me was Janeane Garofalo. I would like to think I have brightened up a bit since then. Looks and personality are factors.

It's really fun. You would be surprised how long it can keep you entertained. Even if you don't work with a lot of people, you can cast the folks who come into your work circle. It's a great time waster.

I think I will start working on casting my current office. Again, some folks are easy. Reese Witherspoon (in Elle mode) plays ML. But she could also play PW - conservative and sweet in a perfect suit. Some aren't as easy.

Does anybody remember when Jamie Foxx did Wanda on In Living Color? If you do, and you work with me, you should be able to cast the appropriate role. :)

Hee hee. Just what we needed... another distraction.

Miscellaneous

I was wrong. I thought all California sauvignon blancs were soft. But last night I tasted the 2007 St. Supery SB. It has all the zest and tang I like in New Zealand SBs. I still think Kim Crawford makes my favorite SB, and it is a bargain.

I stopped by a holiday party last night at the newly refurbished Stoneleigh Hotel. The hotel looks great. The terrace was lovely. I didn't like the food. But it was a very nice party.

D Magazine's Best Restaurant issue is out. There are a number of places in there on my "want to go there" list. Among them are York Street (I am embarrassed I've never been there), Lola, and Tillman's Roadhouse. Hattie's isn't on there, but it is still on my list, at least for lunch.

Why do I have such an urge to bake cookies around Christmastime?