No waffling: 'Donovan Night' a hit for Miracle

By Scott Hotard
Naples Daily News

FORT MYERS — For the record, the Fort Myers Miracle did invite Billy Donovan to Wednesday night's game against the Tampa Yankees.

Yes, the Billy Donovan.

Miracle media relations director Gary Sharp called the University of Florida last week to extend the invitation, dangling everything Southwest Florida has to offer -- even a Hammond Stadium suite, reserved for him and 24 guests -- when he spoke to an employee Sharp hoped would pass the message along.

"We have his tickets at will-call," Sharp said before the game.

Donovan didn't make the trip, of course, but the show went on without him.

The Miracle held "Billy Donovan Night" minus college basketball's richest coach, a zany promotion inspired by Donovan's decision to sign a five-year, $27.5-million contract with the Orlando Magic, then return to Gainesville days later after having a change of heart.

The spectacle was the brainchild of Sharp, who threw out the idea last week after returning from his honeymoon. He figured it would get a few laughs -- and plenty of national attention -- if the Miracle had an attorney on hand to negotiate with fans who, after three innings of baseball, decided to leave the game because they weren't satisfied.

The bad news?

Very few folks in the crowd of 2,029 took part, leaving Fort Myers lawyer Michael F. Hornung about as busy as a starting pitcher on his off day.

The good news?

"That just shows the product," Hornung said as he waited for another "unsatisfied" guest to arrive. "That's pretty close to 100-percent consumer satisfaction."

Pretty close.

One fan, a retired vocational teacher named Dick Kennedy, bargained his way into a free CD, but only after Hornung shot down his initial pitch. Kennedy claimed he wasn't satisfied with the run production -- a scoreless game through three innings -- before changing his story, joking with Hornung that Kennedy's wife, waiting for him at home, was pregnant with the couple's first child.

Another CD went to Cape Coral mom Lisa Hunt, who explained that her son, Ben, had been participating in the Miracle baseball camp this week and she'd been baking in the sun with him. She said she was tired and needed to get some rest.

One other fan, Gina Fishman of Fort Myers, had a softball game to get to. She had her friend, local attorney Spencer Cordell, provide counsel for her, and she got two tickets to a future game. She'd have gotten eight if she made a free throw.

"It's a good idea," said Steve Hunt, Lisa's husband. "I like anything that gets people to the ballpark."

So do the Miracle.

The Florida State League club is known as much for whacky promotions as it is for grooming talent. The Minnesota Twins affiliate had a "Don't be a (Cincinnati) Bengal" promo last week, and "Mike Tyson Ear Night" is a week from today.

As much as any, the jab at Donovan found headlines everywhere in the country. It had appeal because the promo combined a current event with an original idea. It also involved a sports name, and one whose home court is about 250 miles up the road.

Shoot, the Associated Press even sent someone over from Miami. A few months after trailing the Gators as they won Donovan his second straight national championship, Antonio Gonzalez, a former Independent Florida Alligator reporter, covered his first minor-league game, though he left long before the final out had been recorded.

"Not here for the game," Gonzalez said. "Might need the final score, but that's about it."

Like the local reporters, Gonzalez showed up for the event.

He came to see the makeshift lawyer's office where Hornung did his business, an area on the lower concourse replete with a desk, a couple of chairs and even a basketball goal, the last option for fans such as Fishman when trying to sell their case.

He came to see the "Slick Stop Billy D. Hair Station," where a bottle of styling gel rested on a table that also included a couple of combs.

He came to see if anyone would really order the waffles -- a tribute to Donovan's waffling -- and Gatorade that were being sold at one of the concession stands.

"Sometimes you strike a match and hope it burns," said Andrew Seymour, the Miracle's assistant general manager. "This one caught fire."

The planning began 10 days before Wednesday's game. What the Miracle didn't plan, though, might have been as fitting as anything they did.

Fort Myers resident Billy Donovan -- no relation to the Florida coach -- didn't show up either. He was scheduled to throw out the first pitch, but he backed out because he had taken a job in Bonita Springs and Wednesday marked his first day of work.

Sharp & Co. scrambled before settling on Miracle employee Chris Peters, a Florida alumnus, as the replacement.

If only Donovan had appeared at the last moment, grabbed Peters by the sleeve of his blue Gators jersey and told him he'd had a change of heart.

He didn't. Peters threw a strike and broke into the Gator Chomp.

"I don't think the fans were disappointed," Peters joked, when asked about the eleventh-hour switch. "They recognize greatness when they see it."

Evidently, they saw something they liked. Few negotiated their way out.