GLOUCESTER – The first round of the great pole competition is over in Gloucester. The flag has been stolen for a year from a decade-long tradition in a city with blood in its blood.
It was a triumphant victory for winner Max Allen, who put everything on the line.
“I was so nervous because it was so slippery,” said Max Allen, who has trained his whole life for this moment, and it paid off. He grabbed the flag at the end of the greased 45-foot telephone pole above the ocean during Friday’s game.
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Winner takes lap of honor
“You just grow up wanting to get further there, let alone win,” Allen said.
He was doing his lap of honour through the streets of Gloucester during St Peters Fiesta, a festival in honour of the patron saint of the fishing fleets that watch over the close-knit town.
“I’ve been watching this for a long time,” says Gloucester native and greasy pole expert Lisa Nogelo. “If you win a greasy pole match on a Sunday, you’re a local hero.”
Something that newcomers strive for.
“My cousin is a seven-time champion, so he’s always been obsessed with the cool pole,” said Domenik Paony, who didn’t win this year, but practice makes perfect.
“Focus on the pole and no one else. I’ll be back next year to take revenge,” Paony said.
The competition started in 1931
It all started in 1931, a greasy game that Gloucester residents like Jim Tarantino, a former “Survivor” contestant, understand more than most.
“The reason I came to CBS and ‘Survivor’ is because they see real character. You come to Gloucester and you see that working-class fisherman attitude, that realness, that sincerity, that passion, everything you see in a fat pole,” Tarantino said.
The competition will continue all weekend, with the winner being crowned on Sunday.
