Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 26, 1995 TAG: 9511270059
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When University of Virginia football fans discuss their team's bowl situation this week, forgive Bob Bersch if his thoughts turn to chili bowls instead of the Peach Bowl.
For most of Saturday's lunch hour, the 10 stools inside the Texas Tavern were occupied by folks who probably had no idea they were being served their chili, Cheezy Westerns and cheeseburgers by a Roanoke lawyer who came out on the short end of a wager he made on the Nov.18 Virginia Tech-Virginia football game.
That was what Bersch was forced to do, though, after the Hokies rallied in the fourth quarter to beat his beloved 'Hoos 36-29. That outcome forced him to uphold his end of the deal he made with Tavern proprietor Jim Bullington, which was to work at least eight hours as a ``counterman'' at the venerable Church Avenue eatery, taking orders, washing dishes, serving food and withstanding the geyser of lawyer jokes that erupted approximately every 27 seconds.
``He has to work all day serving Hokies,'' said Bullington, who has been friends with Bersch for 25 years, ``but he can't handle the money. That's got to be like Chinese water torture for a lawyer to be that close to money and not touch it. That's why he's here, to increase the reputation of the legal profession by showing people he can do an honest day's work.''
Bersch, a Lynchburg native who spent seven years at UVa as an undergraduate and a law student (Class of 1960), took the ribbing good-naturedly. After all, the tips he received for his work went toward the Kiwanis Christmas party for children from the West End Center. Bersch, who was magnanimous in defeat (``It was a tremendous game,'' he said), is a past lieutenant governor of the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke and still serves as the district legal adviser.
The lawyer jokes were fine. The shots against his alma mater were as tough to swallow as a mouthful of chili down the windpipe.
``It's tough to rebut the Virginia jokes,'' said Bersch, who wore a ``Wreck Tech'' button on his Texas Tavern apron and a ``UVa Law'' T-shirt underneath. ``Tech played well. I told a guy the Hokies weren't smart enough to know the game was over [when Tech trailed by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter], so that's why they kept playing.''
Bullington, whose daughter Laura attended UVa, made the bet only after Bersch volunteered to work. Had the Cavaliers won, Bullington said he would serve 11 UVa football players or 11 UVa alumni free dinner. Bersch even faxed an announcement of the wager to UVa football coach George Welsh:
... Just ask [Roanoke natives and UVa players] Tiki and Ronde Barber about the fabulous food at the Texas Tavern. ...'' Bersch wrote as an enticement to victory.
National Collegiate Athletic Association rules are a little fuzzy concerning athletes receiving free bowls of chili as result of a tavern bet, but Bullington never had to make the offer. Bersch never heard back from Welsh.
The lunch-hour crush was a bit taxing on Bersch, who accidentally served a Cheezy Western to a guy who'd ordered a cheeseburger. Welsh didn't look that haggard even after quarterback Mike Groh had an interception returned for a touchdown on the game's last play.
``That was a run,'' Bersch said after the rush. ``That was worse than the fourth quarter of the ball game. You don't have any timeouts you can call, either ... Life-Guard 10 is coming to get me at 5.''
By the end of the rush, he was calling out orders better than an old fry cook. Being a Texas Tavern patron for more than a quarter of a century, he already knew the lingo.
``Hot dog with [onion], Cheezy Western, double meat,'' he bellowed, ``two bowwwwwllllls, plain.''
He wasn't talking about the Peach or Carquest bowls, either.
``Don't forget, these teams play basketball [on Dec. 28 at the Roanoke Civic Center],'' Bullington said. ``We may get him to work a week after that.''
by CNB