It seemed like a typical night at O'Neill's - the background clatter of dishes, a basketball game being broadcast over the bar and a table full of University students getting ready to pay for dinner.
But up the wooden staircase, a group of female students anxiously was waiting to pay for a different kind of treat. Athletes were the special fare at O'Neill's last Thursday night at Kappa Delta sorority's Athlete Date Auction.
Before the show
To help Kappa Delta raise money for the prevention of child abuse, male athletes representing Virginia's soccer, swimming and diving, baseball, wrestling and football teams signed up to sell themselves for a good cause.
These guys were recruited through word of mouth and via friends involved in Kappa Delta.
Waving a stack of one-dollar bidding plates as she makes her way through the screaming crowd of females, is third-year Education student and Kappa Delta member Katie Gillespie, who organized the event.
"Since this is our first time having the event, I don't really have that many expectations," she says. "I'm just hoping everything will work out, and waiting to see what we can improve on for next year."
Bidding war
The green shaded lamps above the felt-topped pool tables illuminate the crowd of females pressing up against the wooden stage as the auction begins.
The bidders maneuver around the wood-paneled room or talk in small groups as sounds from the bar drift up through the open doorway.
Second-year College student Amber Colella heard about the auction from a friend in Kappa Delta.
"I'm not really here to bid," Colella says. "I just wanted to see what this event is all about."
The athletes for auction are unsure as to how exactly the event will unfold.
The participants mill about on the outskirts of the huge mass of girls, waiting for their exhibitions to begin.
"The bottom line is to avoid embarrassment," says third-year soccer player and College student Kyle Singer as he steps onto the bidding block and looks around the packed room at girls flagging their bids at the emcee.
"It is not about being the highest bid but more about not being the lowest."
Second-year College student Casey Godfrey describes the atmosphere as chaotic as the noise level rises with the increasing number of students squeezing into the room.
But she adds that she has enjoyed the moments before the actual auction.
"I'm here to support Kappa Delta's philanthropy," Godfrey says.
"Some friends and I are going to pool our money and try to win a date."
As she talks, other female students lounge in the wooden booths, surveying the scene and chatting with friends.
"I have to check out the merchandise before I bid, because booty is booty, and it does not matter if you're interested or not," says fourth-year College student Lucy Boyd.
White paper plates with handwritten black numbers written on them float around the packed room, as five swimmers stand tall near the front of the stage.
"I do not think we get recognized enough," says first-year diver and College student Pete Amstutz. "This is good promotion for the swimmers."
8:45 p.m.
The door-prize winners are announced. A few lucky plate-holders win gift certificates and push their way through the crowd to claim the door prizes on stage.
Of all the girls in the room, there is one lucky recipient who wins a gift certificate to Michael's Bistro.
The crowd thickens further as more students drift in on the left side of the stage.
One athlete shifts impatiently as he looks on.
"I am rather nervous and have not thought about what I am going to do when I get on stage," says Ryan Gibbs, a Virginia soccer player and second-year College student.
Another athlete, Steve Cooper, a third-year College student and baseball player, agrees with Gibbs.
"I think the majority of us athletes just do not want to be embarrassed and be worth more than $5," says Cooper.
9:15 p.m.
With all the contestants lined up on display, the bidding begins. The emcee riles up the crowd, and the girls are anxious to bid on the well-muscled contestants.
The first athlete is primed and ready to get handed off to the highest female bidder. He is none other than the Virginia football team's tight end with the self-described "tight end," also known as third-year College student Marcus Martin.
The bidding gets off to a slow start with the emcee prodding the audience to bid higher.
The bid closes at $40, and second-year Kappa Delta member Sarah Jobe walks away with a fine date for a rainy day.
She runs up on the stage and Martin scoops her up and cradles her briefly in his arms. "Anybody that can bench press me is definitely worth $40," says Jobe, dressed in a white T-shirt and seemingly tiny against Martin's 6-foot-5 frame.
As the two walk out of the hectic auction room, they exchange phone numbers on white scraps of paper.
9:37 p.m.
The bidding increases, and two athletes tie for the highest bid.
Fourth-year College student and Virginia baseball player Jonathan Benick and third year College student and Virginia golf player Shep Stevens each go for a pricey $95 each.
As Benick steps off the block smiling, third-year College student and KD member Teresa Chaisiri relates the success of the auction.
"It definitely surpassed my expectations," she says.
"Raising money for Prevent Child Abuse America [a national organization that raises money to prevent child abuse in America] was great and meeting all the athletes was a blast - they were such gentlemen."
Though initially an experiment, Kappa Delta's date auction not only raised money for a good cause, but turned out to be enjoyable for all involved, including the athletes themselves.
"I felt like a piece of meat and it felt good," Martin concludes with a smile.
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