Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 12, 1994 TAG: 9408120068
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"The consensus with everybody around here was, 'The hell with baseball,''' said Wayne Goodpasture, owner of Goodpasture's Sports Grill in Roanoke. "I can't name a person here who wouldn't come back if baseball never was on again."
Just when the game will return to television - or to stadiums, for that matter - is unknown. Negotiations between baseball's management and players over a proposed salary cap went nowhere this week, and players were to strike today, barring a last-minute agreement.
Goodpasture said most of the people who frequent his place on Williamson Road are football or racing fans who don't care too much about that diamond game, especially when the players start fussing for more money.
"If baseball's on, they might watch it," he said. "But people come here to eat."
That certainly seemed to be the case Wednesday night. The division-leading Cincinnati Reds were playing the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers on ESPN - and no one in the place was watching.
"We much prefer football," said customer Ed Johnson of Roanoke, turning his back on the TV behind the bar.
Same night, other side of town: At the Community Inn Restaurant on Grandin Road, drinks and conversation flowed while the game, showing on two TV sets above the bar, largely was ignored.
"It'll probably affect business some, but I'm not really worried," said Bruce Morrow, who owns the neighborhood gathering place with his wife, Juanita.
From what Morrow has been able to gather, few patrons sympathize with the players' plight. The fans are the real victims, he said.
"If the fans would boycott [players] like they're doing to the fans, it might show them something," Morrow said.
But that probably won't happen, he acknowledged. And anyway, it's almost football season. 'Skins season.
That will bring the crowds in, Morrow said.
At lunchtime Thursday, as the last games of the prestrike season were being played in New York, Oakland and Pittsburgh, golf was the sport of choice at the nearly deserted bar at Corned Beef & Co. in downtown Roanoke.
Of course, that was just because none of the afternoon baseball contests was being aired. A game would be on later, and manager Mariah Gerow said it probably would draw a fair-sized crowd.
Unlike the folks at Goodpasture's and the Community Inn, Gerow predicted some loss of business after the players' strike takes hold.
"We get a lot of people watching baseball," Gerow said. Even if they aren't really watching, crowds seem to gather at game time for the camaraderie, she said.
But, as Morrow said, there will always be another sport to draw the crowds.
Championship badminton, anyone?
by CNB