College World Series - Omaha

As most of you know, I headed to Omaha for the first ever College World Series at the TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha. It was quite the experience. I got to see four games, one on Saturday, two on Sunday, and one on Monday and then I made my way back to the Twin Cities.

Let's get right to it. Driving through Iowa is just awful. There is nothing there except for the occasional set of 40 to 50 windmills to either side of the highway. At least I got to drive close to 80 the whole time. Only thing positive in Iowa in my two driving experiences through there.

I got to Omaha right around 2:30 on Saturday and saw Rosenblatt Stadium from the highway. I really wanted to go check it out but it wasn't in the cards and probably won't be. I was told they are getting rid of it soon. It's too bad, there is a lot of history there. I got to my hotel and figured I need to head downtown to get there in time for the second game of the day. UNC vs. Vanderbilt was just finishing up when I got there.

As I arrived at the stadium, I was really impressed. It looked like a major league park in my first viewing. It had a really nice entrance and was definitely on par with some major league facilities. I got a couple of tickets for the general admission seats and got to walk around the whole thing. The problem with the general admission seats are that they aren't guaranteed. You can use them for any game you want but it doesn't necessarily mean you will get it. There are 5,500 seats available in the outfield and if you don't get there in time you are left in the dust. You can use those tickets for any game though, which is nice, but if you are on a timeframe, not so good.

I snuck into line and probably cut at least a thousand people and ended up in the fourth row in left field just above the bullpen. I had a great seat and watched a pretty good game in football powers Florida vs. Texas. I always enjoy watching Texas because I like their coach, Augie Garrido. He is as old school as they come, proven by this video (probably not NSFW - not suited for work, he has some choice words). Texas has played a ton of small ball all year and don't exactly have too many bombers on the squad. It was obvious that Texas couldn't bash with the Gators and the Gators came out on top 8-4.

On Sunday I got my baseball fill for the year. I was hoping for some quality games and some quality baseball and I sure got it. I got to see UVa (Virginia for the dumb people) play against Cal. UVa was throwing the number two pick in the MLB Draft, Danny Hultzen, and he is pretty darn good. One great thing about him is that he also bats 5th in the lineup for the Cavs. You don't see that too often. Cal has a great story and it's awesome that they are playing in the CWS after getting the plug pulled. One of Cal's players went to the same high school as one of the Pipers, Levi Wenrich. Both went to William Hart HS in Newhall,CA. Not sure if Levi knows Devon Rodriguez but they would have been a year apart there. UVa scored a couple of runs late and ended up winning 4-1.

The second game was a matchup of defending National Champion South Carolina versus Texas A&M. I moved seats for this one and headed over to right center for a little different view. I certainly couldn't complain about these ones. One thing I noticed right away is that the Aggies went old school with their stirups. They certainly would have made Alan Trammel proud. Game started off with a bang it was 4-4 after the first. I thought I was going to be at the park until I looked like this. From the 2nd to the 8th there was basically nothing going on and that part went fast. A&M did nothing in the top of the 9th and then the Gamecocks got things going. They got the bases juiced and forced A&M to bring in five infielders. The Gamecocks got a basehit into the outfield and let me get back to my hotel. Great game.

It was a long day at the park for me. I was baseball'ed out until I got back to my hotel and watched the end of the Yanks-Cubbies game. Almost too much baseball for a basketball coach.

The last game of my adventures was the Tarheels of UNC taking on the Longhorns of Texas. I got some regular seating for this one and was right along the left field line right where foul territory got thinner. They were some nice seats for sure. I actually sat next to a couple of older women who have had "season tickets" for the CWS for the past 19 years. It was pretty cool to hear some of their stories. Carolina sent out a freshmen lefty who pitched like a senior. He was phenomenal all game long. He only gave up four hits in a complete game shutout. He has Texas off balance and it was an impressive performance. I was happy to see the Heels get a win on my last game at my first experience in Omaha.

I'm going to go over some positives and negatives of my experience.
Positives
- Great atmosphere, city of Omaha really embraces the CWS
- Some really good baseball was played
- Ballpark was great, add another level and it's just as good as Target Field
- Reasonable ticket prices, 4 games for $48 (I got one free for my good looks)

Negatives
- Line for General Admission seating lasted about a mile, need to be more efficient
- Price for snow cone was $5 and yes I paid it
- Lack of home runs - I didn't see one in BP either, part because of park (wind direction) and new bats (lack of pop)

Interesting Facts
- The new stadium is home to the CWS and Creighton baseball, the local minor league team doesn't play there, it's too big
- Rosenblatt Stadium could seat just as many fans as the new stadium, it always seemed small on tv
- I read in the paper that ESPN brings roughly 160 people to help out with the telecast. Jenn Brown looked just as good in person as on tv.
- Creighton is about six blocks away from the stadium, starting with their unreal soccer facility.

I am hoping to make this an annual event for myself. Nothing like watching some quality baseball with guys always on the top step like it's supposed to be.