6/27/2005
ESPN To Capture City's Foosball Fever
'SportsCenter' to feature bistro's event
By Chris Lassiter/staff classiter@newleader.com
Mike Tripp/The News Leader Alita Stinnett and Crystal Campbell team up against A.D. Campbell in a game of foosball Thursday at the Byers Street Bistro.
STAUNTON —Basketball junkie Derrick Fields would rate "SportsCenter" his second-favorite television show, just behind ESPN's documentaries on the And 1 streetball team.
"It's amazing," said Fields, a guard at Hagerstown Community College with some pretty good moves of his own. "I like the highlights and the information. It tells you everything."
On July 22, Fields and other area residents could possibly see themselves on "SportsCenter." ESPN's flagship news and information program is airing live from Staunton as part of "SportsCenter Across America," a summer tour scheduled to hit all 50 states in as many days.
Maui, Atlanta, Memphis, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and many other cities will also host the ESPN "SportsCenter" crew.
"SportsCenter Across America" will set up at the fourth annual Thunder in the Valley Foosball Spectacular at Byers Street Bistro.
Sometimes referred to as table soccer, foosball is a game of soccer with the players on rod that extend through the sides. Both players control a side.
"We just scouted the states and did all sorts of research," said Mark Gross, senior coordinating producer for "SportsCenter." "I talked to people from those states. We wanted to have a nice mix of mainstream and non-mainstream. We were just nosing around and found an event (foosball) that we didn't have in any other state. No great science, just a lot of intense research."
Beginning in Boston on July 17, the "SportsCenter Across America" staff will do a live feed from a sporting event each day.
The "SportsCenter Across America" segments will include a live host, a mobile studio, event action, historical notes and vignettes about each state's contribution to the national sports scene.
The "SportsCenter Across America" staff contacted Byers Street Bistro general manager Giovanni Cannata about covering the foosball tournament.
"Disbelief. Total disbelief," the restaurant manager said of his reaction.
Cannata ordered a new, wood-based Bonzini foosball table five years ago, partly because of customers requests. The foosball table also was smaller than a pool table and fit better into the full-service restaurant.
The foosball table was an immediate hit, but Cannata never expected coverage from ESPN.
"They called me, and I was like, 'OK, who's pulling the prank?'" Cannata said. "Once I realized it was them, it kinda hit. Then I thought, 'Logistically, how's 'SportsCenter' going to set up in my restaurant?"
Cannata is having trouble convincing people that SportsCenter is coming to town. And he wasn't the only person at Byers Street Bistro who had a hard time believing ESPN would come to Staunton.
"At first, I thought it would be radio coverage," said waitress Allison Kirby, a Radford University student who has worked at the restaurant for the past three summers. "Something like that doesn't happen very often in a small town. I think the foosball tournament might be a little more popular based on that."
The Thunder in the Valley Foosball Spectacular has grown in popularity each year. It draws players from Maryland, South Carolina and Florida. Part of the proceeds go to Hospice of the Shenandoah.
Cannata can't wait to see the ESPN vans roll up in the Wharf area for this year's foosball tournament. Television's longest-running news show, "SportsCenter" receives as many as 88 million viewers a month.
"'SportsCenter's' like coffee," said Cannata, who is still accepting foosball players for the tournament. "I can't live without it."
what:Thunder in the Valley Foosball Spectacular
when:July 22-24
where:Byers Street Bistro
more info:886-5330, www.bonziniusa.com , espn.go.com
Originally published June 24, 2005
Mike Tripp/The News Leader Alita Stinnett and Crystal Campbell team up against A.D. Campbell in a game of foosball Thursday at the Byers Street Bistro.
STAUNTON —Basketball junkie Derrick Fields would rate "SportsCenter" his second-favorite television show, just behind ESPN's documentaries on the And 1 streetball team.
"It's amazing," said Fields, a guard at Hagerstown Community College with some pretty good moves of his own. "I like the highlights and the information. It tells you everything."
On July 22, Fields and other area residents could possibly see themselves on "SportsCenter." ESPN's flagship news and information program is airing live from Staunton as part of "SportsCenter Across America," a summer tour scheduled to hit all 50 states in as many days.
Maui, Atlanta, Memphis, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and many other cities will also host the ESPN "SportsCenter" crew.
"SportsCenter Across America" will set up at the fourth annual Thunder in the Valley Foosball Spectacular at Byers Street Bistro.
Sometimes referred to as table soccer, foosball is a game of soccer with the players on rod that extend through the sides. Both players control a side.
"We just scouted the states and did all sorts of research," said Mark Gross, senior coordinating producer for "SportsCenter." "I talked to people from those states. We wanted to have a nice mix of mainstream and non-mainstream. We were just nosing around and found an event (foosball) that we didn't have in any other state. No great science, just a lot of intense research."
Beginning in Boston on July 17, the "SportsCenter Across America" staff will do a live feed from a sporting event each day.
The "SportsCenter Across America" segments will include a live host, a mobile studio, event action, historical notes and vignettes about each state's contribution to the national sports scene.
The "SportsCenter Across America" staff contacted Byers Street Bistro general manager Giovanni Cannata about covering the foosball tournament.
"Disbelief. Total disbelief," the restaurant manager said of his reaction.
Cannata ordered a new, wood-based Bonzini foosball table five years ago, partly because of customers requests. The foosball table also was smaller than a pool table and fit better into the full-service restaurant.
The foosball table was an immediate hit, but Cannata never expected coverage from ESPN.
"They called me, and I was like, 'OK, who's pulling the prank?'" Cannata said. "Once I realized it was them, it kinda hit. Then I thought, 'Logistically, how's 'SportsCenter' going to set up in my restaurant?"
Cannata is having trouble convincing people that SportsCenter is coming to town. And he wasn't the only person at Byers Street Bistro who had a hard time believing ESPN would come to Staunton.
"At first, I thought it would be radio coverage," said waitress Allison Kirby, a Radford University student who has worked at the restaurant for the past three summers. "Something like that doesn't happen very often in a small town. I think the foosball tournament might be a little more popular based on that."
The Thunder in the Valley Foosball Spectacular has grown in popularity each year. It draws players from Maryland, South Carolina and Florida. Part of the proceeds go to Hospice of the Shenandoah.
Cannata can't wait to see the ESPN vans roll up in the Wharf area for this year's foosball tournament. Television's longest-running news show, "SportsCenter" receives as many as 88 million viewers a month.
"'SportsCenter's' like coffee," said Cannata, who is still accepting foosball players for the tournament. "I can't live without it."
what:Thunder in the Valley Foosball Spectacular
when:July 22-24
where:Byers Street Bistro
more info:886-5330, www.bonziniusa.com , espn.go.com
Originally published June 24, 2005
