Loyal fans watch Manatee's Olympic skaters at Suds

ELLENTON — Pick a sport. Pick a champion.

Chances are, there is a banner to your liking hanging from one of the walls at Suds Sports Grill, which is near the Ellenton Ice & Sports Complex.

Basketball banners boasting the exploits of UCLA and the University of Kentucky. Football banners commemorating the Super Bowl years of the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers.

A baseball banner for the New York Mets.

But Monday night, figure skating was the game of choice — mostly because it was the game of choice for pairs Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett, and Mark Ladwig and Amanda Evora.

The quartet wrapped their first-ever Winter Olympics appearance with Monday night’s free skate, and roughly a dozen people sat around the restaurant’s projection screen, cheering on the pairs.

Denney, Barrett, Ladwig and Evora trained at the nearby ice complex, where Marvin Kaplan is a managing partner.

Their Olympic exploits drew more than 50 fans to a two-night watch party at Suds — much to the delight of Ladwig, who sent a text message to Brett Kaplan, the complex’s marketing director, with a question Sunday.

“Is Suds busy?”

“It’s all about the kids,” Marvin Kaplan said. “They’re wonderful, wonderful kids. They’re so down to earth, so unaffected by all of this.”

They have a loyal fan base. Though not as many showed up Monday as did Sunday, the ones in attendance gave the skaters their undivided attention. They cheered during the Denney and Barrett portion — and then sent out a collective groan when more commercials ran before the pair’s scores were announced.

But everyone was in such good spirits that they chuckled through a commercial or two, including a Snickers ad featuring R&B legend Aretha Franklin.

It’s been a whirlwind experience for everyone associated with the complex since both pairs clinched Olympic berths at the national championships last month.

“Figure skating, I never thought about it much until I saw these skaters practice,” Marvin Kaplan said. “It’s amazing what they can do.”

Locals have agreed. The pairs’ practice sessions drew 800 to 1,000 fans to the facility, and for two nights, turned Suds into a figure-skating hub.

Following Denney and Barrett, Ladwig and Evora hit the ice, garnering more cheers and whoops from the fans, and with good reason — their score of 114.06 in the free skate and total of 171.92 were personal bests.

Not a bad way to wrap things up.

“They’re not my kids — I can only imagine how their parents must feel,” Marvin Kaplan said. “But I am proud to be associated with them.”