THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 7, 1996 TAG: 9607050016
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 29 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: 105 lines
THE CROWD of slightly more than 10,000 pulsated to the music at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater as Brian Mann enjoyed a rare few minutes of solitude. On the other side of the spacious new facility, Robert Woodhouse shared a few laughs with some of the evening's guests.
The end of another 15-hour day of rock `n' roll was drawing to a close and the two could feel it.
As Beach District high school football players 12 years ago, they shared very similar emotions. They loved the game and fed off the crowds, but often couldn't wait for it to finally end so they could rest for the next day.
These days, as back then, the two Amphitheater supervisors get little rest.
Mann was an offensive tackle on a Green Run team that ranked as one of the best the Beach District has ever assembled, huddling up with the likes of current NFL players Matt Darby and Keith Goganious.
``House'' Woodhouse was a center on Kellam's last Beach District championship effort when John Granby - who played at VMI and was a member of the Denver Broncos for a year - led the charge.
Mann's team tied with Woodhouse's for the 1984 district title, but it was Woodhouse's team that won the toss and got the right to play eventual Group AAA state champion Hampton in the first round of the Eastern Region playoffs.
Friends since junior high, Mann and Woodhouse both graduated in 1985 and went their separate ways.
But they sometimes talk about those good old days of high school football when they prepare for the crush of thousands of music fans at the two-month-old facility that has brought them together once again.
And they have discovered many similarities between their old high school teams and working the Cellar Door team that now keeps them hopping.
You sign up, during trial runs you are worked into a position, and there are experienced people above you that resemble coaches.
Maybe their high school football experiences are why Mann and Woodhouse have been so good at what they now do.
For Cellar Door, Mann is the director of Event Services and oversees nearly 400 staffers who work everything from ticket taking to ushers to security.
Woodhouse is a basic supervisor under Mann and takes care of a variety of situations as they pop up.
They both also work at venues where Cellar Door has interests or is putting on shows.
So Mann is like the team captain and Woodhouse is like the roving linebacker who tackles anything that gets by his main man.
And they and their teammates are becoming a pretty successful squad.
Mann, 29, didn't get any football scholarship offers and went to ODU to major in special education. He got a master's from Hampton University and now teaches at Lake Taylor High in Norfolk.
He often works with the Special Olympics if time permits.
The rest of his time is spent with his wife, Mary Lynn, and kids Josh, 3, and Kyle, 3 months.
Mann started with Cellar Door 10 years ago as a way to help pay for college.
In a few short months, he was selected to jump into a supervisory roll and has been climbing the ladder ever since.
His size - 6-foot-5 and 335 pounds - didn't hurt.
``But he's a born leader,'' said Cellar Door vice president and Event Services founder Bobby Melatti. ``He's got a lot of things going for him. He's well educated, he's big, he commands respect and he's got this way of having people look up to him.
``He's like a big teddy bear - a gentle giant. You can't help but like him because of his personality, and you wouldn't dare get on his bad side.
``There are very few Brian Manns.''
High praise for a guy who has ``seen it all'' in the music business. Mann says he has seen everything from drugs and wild parties to the new craze of ``Moshing'' - dancing areas near the stage where people throw physical risk, as well as their bodies, out the window.
He has worked with bands that many would think would be difficult but turned out to be great.
``And vice versa,'' he said. ``It's always a huge learning process, but I've seen it all.''
Woodhouse's life mirrors Mann's with the exception of family life. He's still single.
After high school he went to Norfolk State, but did not play sports. He also chose the education field and now teaches fourth grade at Cape Henry Collegiate School.
He started with Cellar Door a couple of years ago.
``I was playing in the Charity Bowl and a couple of the boys were working at the Boathouse,'' said Woodhouse, 29. ``They needed some help, so I went to the interview and Brian interviewed me.
``I got my orientation by fire - working a Smashing Pumpkins concert with all the mosh pit stuff. It was scary at first because those kids don't care. We worry about them hurting themselves, because they don't worry.''
While he is still a relative novice at the job, Woodhouse is showing many of the Mann-like qualities that are steering him toward success.
Both exhibit extraordinary people skills.
``He's not far behind,'' Melatti said. ``He's just great. He's humorous and has the intelligence to be able to juggle everything without panicking. And he's also got that gentle giant (5-7, 265) look and feel about him.''
Mann and Woodhouse are but a couple of the pieces that form the puzzle that is the staff at the Amphitheater. And without each piece, you don't have a picture.
But that's a situation a couple of former Beach District football standouts can appreciate.
They're used to being on a team. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
Brian Mann, who played for Green Run, and Robert Woodhouse, who
played for Kellam, are now security supervisors at the amphitheater. by CNB