This is my favorite time of year, always has been and always will.
My son was very fortunate to play in Omaha, it is really quite an experience, and I would like to share some of what I still remember.
To begin with, son had been there as a spectator for two seasons, and if you ever want to take your son on a trip he will always remember, this is the closest you will get to baseball heaven. Sons travel team coaches made this a part of their season, play a tourney in Omaha and go to a CWS game. I often think that those two trips inspired son to be the best he could be, so that he would have the opportunity to be a participant someday. Omaha left such an impression on him that he was bound and determined to get there once again!
Anyway, my husband and I drove to Clemson, South Carolina from FL for the super regional and thought that if they won we would come home and fly out to Nebraska by the weekend. But after that game, we were told, you cant go home, you have got to leave and be there by Wednesday, so we packed up, went to say goodbye to son and went to Walmart to by what we had left at home, called the bosses and said see ya when its over, and wrote in orange paint on the back windshield, On the Road to Omaha, put magnetic orange tiger paw prints all over the car and drove two days through about 6+ states and had a blast telling everyone along the way why we were headed to Omaha. The teams fly to the tourney on private planes supplied by the NCAA. They were there before we arrived wednesday afternoon.
So here is how it went. Its as close as you can get to being a rock star! You and your teammates are THE center of everyone's attention. Its awesome.
The first day, each team gets a signing hour, order is as seeded in the tournament, the entire team sat at a long table while hundreds of people stood in line to get their signatures. Its just a lot of fun watching your kid and his teammates soaking it all in, feeling so special while our first round pick for the Cubs got plenty of press from ESPN and local news. Pictures, pictures, pictures everywhere you go, everyone wants a picture!
That year the teams were Clemson, Rice, Cal State Fullerton, Georgia, Georgia Tech, UNC, Miami and the Cinderella team and Champions, Oregon State. Some locals had no clue where Clemson was, or that they even had a baseball team, we found that funny as they were the #1 seeded team that year!
All teams get an organization assigned to them to be the escorts. They have all types of things planned, when you are not playing baseball. We had a bar-b-q out in the middle of some cornfield in neighboring Iowa. Sounded pretty hokey, but when we arrived there were just lots and lots of Clemson fans who bought tickets for lunch to be able to eat with their baseball team, and it was a blast. They did run out of food, I think they didn't realize 35 guys can eat enough for an army.
The teams stay downtown in 5 star hotels, each has their own and its all decorated with the team colors and souvenirs. The entire downtown area has been renovated and I remember that its called the Marketplace? Really, really nice and you can find lots of great places to eat and hang out, my fav being Famous Daves. Our hotel in Lincoln was not available the first few nights because it was new and they never got the final CO so we splurged for a downtown stay at the Embassy Suites where Miami was being housed. Turned out we knew some of the parents and one player had played with son so it was nice company at breakfast. We then moved to a much more affordable hotel with other Clemson parents, one still posts here.
My son played at Rosenblatt and although I know the new stadium is awesome, there is and never will be anything like Rosenblatt Stadium. IMO.
For two weeks Omaha becomes a street fair with a circus like atmosphere, people who own homes along the street permit to turn their backyards and driveways into beer gardens. They locals savor every moment (and every dollar I suppose) and there is nothing like midwest hospitality. Unfortunately you can spend a small fortune walking up the street with all there is to buy! We spent a a bigger fortune for all kinds of stuff to bring back to family and friends. Thank goodness for Amex!!!!
We lost our first game to UNC. It was a pitching dual, Stephen Faris from Clemson vs that crafty guy by the name of Robert Woodard from UNC
. You may know who he is, the current pitching coach at Virginia Tech, and also the son of Prepster! He was just awesome!
We lost the second game to Cal State, son of TPM got into the game in relief and is on record as the losing pitcher for that game. Funny how ironic baseball is, he won the game to get to Omaha and lost it to be the first team sent home! It stung, but the next day he was looking forward to flying home, packing up and heading out to the cape for more baseball.
This by far was one of he highlights of our sons baseball career, and one trip that will always be remembered by our family. He carries in his bag, dirt from the infield at Omaha, as a reminder of just how special that time was, and personal goal met 10 seasons ago! For anyone who has a son who has played in Omaha, or will someday, you really get an appreciation of just how hard that road really is to get to the finals!
Best of luck to all of the teams this year and for anyone who will be there with your son, ENJOY THE RIDE!!!
