College World Series was quite an experience
This past Thursday, I was able to take in a game during the NCAA College Baseball World Series, and it was quite the experience.
In fact, my only regret was not doing it sooner!
As the back leg of a trip that took me to Minneapolis for a Twins and WNBA game, into North Dakota, and then into South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial and the Badlands, getting to Omaha, Nebraska, was a unique adventure.
The World Series has been held in Omaha every year since 1950, and it has been held at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha since the stadium opened in 2011.
The venue replaced the historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as host of the World Series, and it will continue to do so through at least 2035.
Also home to the Creighton University Bluejays, the venue has a seating capacity of 24,000, but has the ability to expand to 35,000 spectators when factoring in standing room only options.
When first pulling into Omaha, as I had never been there before, I was surprised to see how big the city actually is.
The city only has 15,000 less people in it than Kansas City at almost 447,000 people, and including the nine closest counties in the immediate area, there are almost 900,000 people 鈥渋n鈥� Omaha.
After checking into my hotel and grabbing some good old-fashioned Midwest BBQ at Hog Wild BBQ Pit, I made the five-mile trek downtown to find the stadium.
The immediate area of where the stadium is located looks modern and gives Omaha the feel of a city that蘑菇视频 thriving and not stuck in the past.
After parking about five blocks from the stadium, I made my way around the area to see what downtown had to offer, and the beautiful Heartland of America Park is less than a mile away.
The 31-acre public park has a little bit of everything, including three fountains, and you can take tours around the lake on the General Marion boat.
As you near the stadium, you feel the aura around the event with every step.
Much like when I have gone to the Final Four and numerous bowl games, there are activities, both NCAA ran and otherwise, all around.
Behind right field, there is a several-acre area that was used for merchandise stands, food booths and games everywhere that gave it the feel of being at a fair or a carnival.
The atmosphere was jovial, and everyone was welcoming.
Seeing thousands of people making their way around the area, witnessing kids eating cotton candy as walking with their parents, and seeing fans of numerous teams everywhere truly gave me the sense of being at a special event.
What I found to be unique was, on top of the throng of fans for the eight teams playing in the World Series, I saw people walking around sporting team apparel for countless other teams.
That is when it truly hit me that the experience wasn鈥檛 just about the eight programs fortunate enough to make it.
Whereas the Final Four and the bigger bowl games I have been fortunate enough to go to, like the Rose Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl, have a corporate feel to them, the World Series felt like it was owned by the fans.
Unlike its hardwood and pigskin brethren whose events are corporately driven, to borrow a line from Abraham Lincoln蘑菇视频 Gettysburg Address, the College Baseball World Series felt like an event, 鈥渂y the people and for the people.鈥�
After spending well over an hour outside of the stadium taking in the sites and the experience, I finally decided to head into the stadium.
The outcome of the elimination game between Florida and Texas Tech, the defending champion Gators won, 9-6, was irrelevant to me as I did not know one player from either team, but the experience is something that I will never forget.
Sitting a mere 17 rows off of the field down the third-base line, I also meandered around the stadium throughout the game to get views from different areas.
There isn鈥檛 a bad seat in the house and seeing the passionate faithful Texas Tech fans down the third-base line and the vociferous Florida fans down the first-base line was fun.
I stood on the main concourse behind home plate for a while to get a straight on view and hearing the fans of the two programs go back and forth with cheers for their teams was a site to see.
The weather cooperated, as it was in the 70s, and although it was a little cloudy, the buzz in the air was something to witness live.
The amazing thing to me is that while the Final Four lasts a weekend and bowl games have events for a few days, the college baseball World Series lasts almost two weeks.
Seeing the environment for one day is one thing, but I can only imagine what it would be like witnessing events and games for two weeks.
One gameday experience was all I needed to appreciate it though, and it is something that I will never forget.
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