Live From Omaha

Unfortunately, I didn't really have the chance to blog live from Omaha as I said I would, because I didn't get back to the hotel until very late Monday and Tuesday night. However, it really doesn't matter, because everything I planned on writing can still be written and not lose its relevance. So, it's a little late, but here it is; my "Live From Omaha" special.

Day 1 (Monday, June 28th)

My brother and I got to the stadium around eleven in the morning, because we were going to get in line to upgrade our tickets. This would assure that not only my brother and I, but also my dad and other brother (who were at my brother's baseball tournament) would also get a seat at the game. My brother was smart enough to bring along a camera so that we could document our experience waiting in line, so you can watch the videos below to hear more about that.







After we got our upgraded tickets, we essentially had about six hours to kill. Since our dad was at my brother's game, we had no car and about a mile around Rosenblatt Stadium to work with. After going to the flea market for about an hour, we did the most reckless, exciting thing we could think of for the next two and a half hours; sit under a tree by the porta-potties. You'd think that sitting by twelve steaming portable toilets under a tree with very little shade would keep the ticket scalpers away, but you'd be mistaken. Eventually, most of the scalpers went across the street to the flea market, as they must have figured out that standing in the sun for five hours to make a two dollar commission on tickets is not the most effective way to make money.

At around three in the afternoon, the Fan Fest stuff started to set up outside the stadium. My brother and I decided that the Coke girls were much better looking than the Mello Yello ladies, so we spent the next hour or so walking around the Coke station taking free shots of Coke Zero. After about an hour of walking around pointing out the dimes, we found an area with picnic benches under shade. These picnic benches were not as intriguing as the porta-potties we sat by earlier, but nevertheless, the shade was nice. While sitting at the table, some older woman came up to us and asked us if we wanted a sticker. This is the point where I became a South Carolina Gamecocks fan. No UCLA fan was smart enough to adopt me for the series, and my brother had already bought a South Carolina hat, so it seemed okay to me as long as I made sure not to place the South Carolina sticker over the Ohio State logo on my shirt.

After the picnic tables no longer seemed like the hot place to be, we began to walk around again. A coach bus arrived in the parking lot, and my brother insisted on walking over to it, because he believed it was carrying the South Carolina team. This is the first of two times on the trip that I disagreed with him and he ended up being right. The sting of me being wrong (it stings because it's rare) was alleviated slightly by the fact that I became more pleased with my choice of adopting South Carolina as my team, as I noticed that South Carolina had the better looking female fans. This may have been because 75% of the fans at Rosenblatt were rooting for South Carolina, but it also could have been because no UCLA girls wore shirts that read "I Heart Cocks".

After the players got off the bus, we went back to the picnic tables to sit. At this point our patience was being tested, as we had been waiting for over five hours for our dad and brother to show up and they informed us that the team had decided to go back to the hotel before heading to Rosenblatt. Eventually they showed up, and we got in line (the short one, though, because we had upgraded our tickets) to get into the stadium.

When we got inside, the first thing we did was buy food. Now, before I go on, let me ask you all a question: When was the last time that your food cost more than your ticket? That pretty much sums up the story on the food, although to be fair, it was really good.

And now, for the game. It started out...no, I'm just kidding. This isn't about the game. It's about the experience, and (for the first game, at least) nothing happened worth noting in the stands. That pretty much wraps up Day 1.


Day 2 (Tuesday, June 29th)

We knew that Day 2 was going to be completely different than Day 1. My brother's game was later in the day, which meant that we didn't have to go down to the stadium and wait all day for my dad and brother to show up. However, that also meant that immediately after we got to Rosenblatt, we had to go get in the "General Admission" line behind the stadium because we didn't have reserved seating. I didn't believe that the line formed until around four, but that was the second of two times that I was wrong and my youngest brother was right. However, the sting of this one was not alleviated, as my brother was far more of an ass after we found out he was right. So, we walked behind the stadium and got into the line. We waited in line for about an hour or so, which wasn't that bad because four chicks with E,S,P, and N written on their shirts were by us and kept us busy. I would have preferred that "Entertainment" and "Network" had gone somewhere else, because it was pretty obvious from their girth that we really only came for the "Sports Programming", but I guess you have to take both the good and the bad.

Eventually we got into the stadium, and South Carolina was taking batting practice. Since we were in the General Admission section rather than the Reserved Seating section, I quickly noticed that the douche bag-to-normal people ratio was much higher than the night before. However, we got extremely lucky, as one gentleman sitting a few rows in front of us was easily the funniest fan I have ever witnessed at any sporting event. There are no words to describe him; you just have to see him for yourselves.



It didn't end with Barry. These videos aren't very good, as our camera is broken and you can't actually see what you're filming, but it's still worth watching. If you can't figure out what it is, look up "Erin Andrews Look Alike Streaking" on YouTube.





As I said before, this blog isn't really focused on the actual games, but my brother did get footage of the game winning hit, which I think is worthy of being posted.



That pretty much sums up my trip. Now that I've had a chance to experience the College World Series, I'm going to miss Rosenblatt Stadium. Personally, I don't think they really needed the new stadium. The majority of the people that come to College World Series aren't even true fans of any of the teams participating (myself included). They come for the atmosphere of Rosenblatt, and with the new stadium likely going to make ticket prices skyrocket, it's not going to fill up. They had a great thing in Rosenblatt, and it's cliche, but it will no longer be the same. I'm just glad I had a chance to experience The 'Blatt before it's gone.


- K. Becks

Did It Really Matter?

Yesterday's game was a good effort by the U.S. team. The bottom line is, they made it to where they should have, and anything more would have been icing on the cake. It's probably better that they went out valiantly against Ghana, because quite frankly, I think it would have been ugly had the U.S. had to play Uruguay in the quarterfinals. We saw it happen in three out of the four games that the U.S. played; they gave up the early goal, and it's extremely hard to come back in soccer. The fact that they managed to come back two of the three times is pretty incredible in itself. Yes, it's hard to accept defeat against a team in consecutive World Cups, but sometimes that's just the way things go. I'm not sure how much this will help soccer in the long run, but it certainly hasn't hurt the popularity in the U.S. like another early exit in the group stage would have done.

On the bright side, at least we won't have to wonder "what could have been" for the next four years as England and Mexico will likely have to do. Both were the victim of missed calls by the referees; in the England game, a shot by Frank Lampard that clearly crossed the goal line was not ruled a goal. This would have tied the game at 2-2 in the first half, and although Germany went on to win the game 4-1, could have had an impact on the game. According to England coach Fabio Capello, "We could have played a different style" had the goal counted. So, are you saying that had the goal gone in, you would have changed your style of play from that point on? Since we're in the knockout stage, I'm pretty sure the name of the game is to aggressively attack and try to win instead of play for a tie. How exactly does that style of play change whether the game is 2-1 or tied? The fact of the matter is, England did not play well throughout their stay in this World Cup, and one goal was not going to change the way they played. Germany was the better team, and that was evident by the fact that they scored four goals for the second time this World Cup.

Mexico on the other hand was victim of those all too common offside calls that aren't called. In the 26th minute, Argentina's Lionel Messi headed the ball to Carlos Tevez, who was clearly behind all the Mexican defenders, and Tevez promptly put the ball into the back of the net. However, like the England vs. Germany game, you're splitting hairs if you argue that the missed call was a game changer. Argentina won the game 3-1, and was in control for most of the game other than the first couple of minutes. With this being said, what we have here are a couple of cases of overmatched teams on the wrong end of a call arguing that they were cheated. Sorry guys, but regardless of the calls, you didn't deserve to win.

Tomorrow I'll begin with my "Live from Omaha" posts. It's not really anything special; basically, I'll just be writing about my experience at the College World Series finals in addition to the other topics that I would originally cover. Other than the actual baseball part, I'll also comment on the waiting in line, the food, the atmosphere, and of course, the ladies. I'm looking forward to it, and hopefully this lighter tone in my writing will attract more than my usual readership, which typically maxes out at about four.



- K. Becks