NFL Lockout Ends, Falls Church Bars Relieved

After 132 days of the NFL Lockout, football fans across the nation rejoiced as the lockout ended on Monday with league owners and the NFL Players Association agreeing on a new collective bargaining agreement.

Local Falls Church bars were also happy that their businesses will be back to normal this fall with customers lining up for wings and beers on Sundays.

“I don’t even want to think what it would’ve been like without a football season,” said Jeremiah Mahoney, a manager at , a popular bar along Broad Street.  “Even with preseason games we get a good amount of people out to the bar. I’m thinking this year with the whole lockout and everything people will be even more desperate to watch preseason stuff because they’ve been without football talk for so long.”

Dogwood is one of several Falls Church bars and restaurants that features drink and food specials during NFL games to attract more customers.  In addition to Redskins fans, Mahoney mentioned that he gets a lot of out of towners rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers and other games because their teams are not typically broadcasted in the local market to where people can watch their favorite teams at home.

“It’s surprising because we get more Pittsburgh Steelers fans here,” said Mahoney. “I guess it’s because they are out of towners so they like to congregate where there’s more of them.  Pretty much everyone in this area is a Redskins fan so you don’t really have to go to a bar to find one.  We have the NFL Package so we probably show 12 or more games each Sunday.”

The lockout ended with the NFLPA and owners agreeing to give owners a higher percentage of the more than $9 billion in annual revenue for the NFL, while players get changes to off season and in season practice rules to make games safer.

The annual preseason “Hall of Fame game” will not be played this season, due to the extended period of the lockout the game scheduled for August 7th between the Bears and Rams in Canton, Ohio will no longer be played.

“We’re happy that the lockout is over,” said Abigail Bernabe, manager for Velocity Five, a restaurant and bar located at the intersection of Lee Highway and Gallows Road. “I think our patrons that are used to coming here to watch football with us are happy because we can continue the culture of being a sports restaurant.”