THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 29, 1996 TAG: 9609270245
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: COVER STORY
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: 134 lines
AS BUFFALO BILLS running back Thurman Thomas ripped off a big gain against the Dallas Cowboys last weekend, the spectators went nuts, cheering wildly and taunting nearby Dallas fans.
It was behavior befitting a bunch of football crazies. That's exactly what these folks were - die-hard Bills fans. And it didn't make any difference that the game was actually being played hundreds of miles away in Buffalo, N.Y., and that the fans were here in Virginia Beach watching it on TV.
They were just as fanatic.
A lot of Cowboy, Packer, Steeler and other fans who can't make it to the real action are spending their Sunday afternoons watching their beloved teams on big-screen TVs fed by satellite dishes in crowded sports bars.
Just hit any of the city's sports pubs and see for yourself. But go early. The place will probably be packed.
Like the other venues, Smoty's Sports Asylum was in high gear last weekend.
Home to three NFL-backer clubs, the sports bar on General Booth Boulevard was hosting the third annual Buffalo Bills Backers of Virginia Beach tailgate party.
A huge tent had been erected in the parking lot and three pigs were cooking on the grill next to hot dogs and hamburgers. Owners James and Robyn Holt and a team of employees were frantically putting the final touches on the party as football fans of all denominations began arriving in the parking lot.
Although the Bills game didn't start until 4 o'clock that afternoon, Buffalo supporters were trickling in with the scores of Minnesota and Green Bay fans arriving for the early game. While Vikings- and Packers-backers went at each other with fervor, Bills fans drowned them all out at the mere mention of their pending game.
``They're all nuts,'' said Bills club president Scott Czarcinski. ``Some of them are downright crazy. They just love their Bills.''
At the day's peak, there were more than 300 people in the tent and indoors watching games on 15 televisions.
The fans flaunt their love. Adorned in every kind of team garb imaginable, they come to cheer for their players. Faces are painted in team colors and they're wearing team jerseys, hats, bandanas, buttons, pins and banners. Some are carrying stuffed animals dressed in the uniform of choice. Others even wear battery-powered flashing earrings.
While Bills fans gained strength in numbers last week, the Minnesota-Packers game was at full tilt.
Inside Smoty's hearing was impossible. Every play drew cheers and applause so loud the windows rattled and pitchers of beer on tables trembled.
And it was easy to see that Donna Grove was tense. Dressed in a horned Vikings helmet and a wig with long braids, she watched as her team fell behind.
``I've always been a football fan,'' the 41-year-old Virginia Beach resident said, sitting on the edge of her seat and cheering with every good Minnesota play. ``I started cheering for the Vikings when I met my husband Scott. He's from Minnesota.
``If the game is on regular TV, we usually watch at home. But this is some fun.''
Waiting with almost alarming calm were Ken and Joan Graham, a pair of Bills fans with an interesting twist.
Joan, 64, is a member of the Bills Backers but an avid Cowboys fan as well. Wearing a Bills shirt and Cowboys hat, she was the only fan there who couldn't lose that day.
``That's right, one way or the other, I'm a winner,'' she said. ``I love both teams, always have.''
And, like nearly every other NFL fan, she can be fanatical.
``When these two play, she decorates one half of the den with Bills' stuff and the other with Cowboys,' '' husband Ken, 62, said. ``It's crazy.''
Real crazy is when Paul Duval, Gary Lisowski and Jeff Albert get together for a Bills game.
The three don't just get together - they're practically inseparable on game day. The trio shows up, faces painted and wearing Bills' jerseys, pants and bandanas.
``There is a bond that exists between people who are fans of the same team,'' said Duval, a 36-year-old Navy man who lives in Chesapeake. ``It's a western New York camaraderie and a hometown loyalty. A lot of us have ties to the Bills. Other people around here are fans because of Bruce (Smith).''
Duval is leaving soon for duty in Italy and will miss the fun of spending the rest of the season with his buddies. But he's hopeful. The base has satellite TV and there will undoubtedly be Bills fans.
``I'm going to start a club over there,'' he said. ``I'll be there for 18 months, and I won't miss anything but these people.''
Duval and others like him would be sorely missed if they stopped going out for football.
While the current trend of group watching scores with fans, it's also big business for the establishments.
Smoty's, Winner's Sports Bar, Footer's Sports Pub, Bubba's Beach Club, Silverman's, Hometown Hero's Sports Bar, Pepper's and others have been enjoying the game just as much as the fans.
``It definitely makes our fall,'' said Bill Minder of O'Sullivan's Wharf at Lynnhaven Mall, ``official'' home of the Green Bay Packers. ``September and October are notoriously slow times for restaurants and this Green Bay Packers thing has turned a mediocre time into one of our best times.''
Minder, a Packers fan himself, said he saw the trend starting a few falls ago when he had about 10 Green Bay fans showing up regularly. Word spread and he soon had 50. Now it's hundreds.
``When Green Bay plays, we're packed,'' Minder said, no pun intended. ``When they have an off week, we have people in to watch games, but it's nothing like normal. Green Bay plays three Monday night games and one Sunday night. Those weeks are going to kill my Sunday afternoon business.''
Many establishments lure fans in with special buffets and prices geared toward what's happening in the game - like dollar shooters when there's a long touchdown pass.
As the Bills-Cowboys game neared its end last week, the tent at Smoty's was about to float away from all the hot air blown by the Buffalo fans.
Their team was seconds away from defeating the defending Super Bowl champion Cowboys, 10-7. For them, it was a great Sunday afternoon. ILLUSTRATION: Photos, including color cover, by L. TODD SPENCER
Donna Groves reacts to a Minnesota Vikings turnover during a game
against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 22 at Smotys Sports Asylum in
Strawbridge Shopping Center.
Real crazy is when Paul Duval, left, Gary Lisowski and Jeff Albert
get together for a Bills game at Smoty's. The trio shows up, faces
painted and wearing Bill's jerseys, pants and bandanas.
Brandon Bunn, 10, and Beth VanHout enjoy a Bills touchdown under the
pig pickin' tent at Smoty's Sports Asylum.
ABOVE: Skip Monroe, a Smoty's employee, prepares food for the pig
pickin' at the sports bar located in Strawbridge Shopping Center on
General Booth Boulevard.
LEFT: Matt Sinnen of Virginia Beach makes no mistake about where his
loyalties lie during the Vikings' game against the Packers. by CNB