The Blatt's Last Stand

Anyone and everyone who has heard me talk about Rosenblatt Stadium, the College World Series, and TD Ameritrade Ballpark, knows exactly how I feel about the situation. At least they did. I'm not sure if I was in denial, or if I just let my gusto for progress get the best of me, but for some reason or another, I didn't think that I would miss old Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. I railed on and on about how the concourses are too small and smelled like everything from rotten garbage (at best) to human feces (at worst). I went on tirades about how the bathrooms had to be designed to resemble a medieval European dungeon (thats the PG version). The seats are too small, the hallways are too dark, and the parking situation is a nightmare. None of these things that I founded my arguments against Rosenblatt on are any less true now than they were before. In fact after experiencing another handful of games at the Blatt, they might be more true than they've ever been. You know what's coming though . . . All those things are true, but . . .

My first trip to Rosenblatt was also my first trip to a sporting even that I was old enough to remember and occurred in 1996 when I was 8 years old. It was the championship game of the 50th College World Series. This game would turn out to be one of the most memorable NCAA championships in any sport. In the bottom of the 9th with two outs, Louisiana State was down one run with a runner on base. Up to bat came Warren Morris, who had missed much of the season due to injury and had not hit a home run all year. Meanwhile, out in the right field bleachers, my brother and I were sitting with a family friend from church who had taken us to the game. I had quickly became deeply invested in the fate of the Louisiana State Tigers, mostly due to the fact that the stadium was covered in gold and purple and because the LSU fans are about some of the greatest people you could ever hope to watch a game with. In great distress as the Tigers were down to their final out, our family friend told me, well just stick your glove as high in the air as you can so he knows where you want him to hit it. Being 8, this made perfect sense to me and I did as I was told. The next thing I know . . . PING! It turns out Warren Morris could have used GPS (which no one knew existed yet) because his ball landed out a half a dozen people to my left. I wasn't overly upset about this though as I was caught up in the absolute bedlam that ensued as Morris circled the bases for his walk-off home run to win the National Championship. The old wooden outfield bleachers at the Blatt were literally shaking as the stadium essentially turned into a 20,000 person mosh pit. That game more than anything else solidified my lifelong love for the game of baseball. That game is the reason we as a culture watch sports. That game is the College World Series in a nutshell.

I have returned to Rosenblatt for every College World Series since then. Some years I was a die hard fan (when Florida State was there, or when I latched onto an underdog like the Louisian-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns), while others I was just a kid that loved the game. In that time I've gone from hoping to participate one day as a player (before arm injuries and reality set in), to realizing that while the quality of play isn't up the the standard of the Big Leagues, the fact that those kids have never wanted to be anywhere more than they want to be in Omaha at that very moment, certainly makes up for it. I've gone from preferring the insanity that is the mob in right field when I started, to enjoying the ease and superior view of the reserved seats now.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've grown up with the College World Series, and therefore with Rosenblatt. I have changed a lot since my first game and so the fact that the Series, and even the venue is changing doesn't really scare me all that much. I've seen the bleachers go from terrifying wooden structures on the verge of collapse, to beautiful blue and yellow painted steel. I've seen the championship decided first with a single game, winner takes all and now with a best of three series. I've seen the games shown almost exclusively on CBS to now having it be an all ESPN event. I think that's why I'm alright with the move to the new ballpark, in the back of my mind it seems like I kind of always expected it to happen eventually, even if I didn't realize it. I am used to the College World Series changing. The one change I never would have been okay with was if the Series was no longer in Omaha, and the new stadium ensures that it will be here for at least 25 more years. I have always been pretty good at looking at the big picture when it came to this issue because the one thing for me that was non negotiable was having the CWS in Omaha. Once I understood that the NCAA was going to move the event to another city if Omaha didn't build a new facility, I was all for TD Ameritrade Ballpark; whatever it took to keep the Series.

Looking at the big picture for the last year or so at the last College World Series at Rosenblatt approached left all of the little things a little blurry. Those things came into focus on Monday evening as I made my last trip to the College World Series in the ballpark on the hill. I sat in a seat next to my oldest sister, who had taken me to so many games over the years. It just seemed right that my last one was with her (unfortunately my brother and younger older sister couldn't make it into town for the event). We got into the stadium about an hour before game time and just started reminiscing about everything we had experienced over the years. There was the year where we got trapped in the concourse by a tornado warning and the year Florida State came up just inches short of finally capturing the title. We had story after story, and this is when I started to realize that while I'm more than happy to let the big things change, there are some little things that I really hope stick around.

I hope the 70 year old LSU fan who tosses free beads to anyone who asks is still a regular. I hope head ground's keeper Jesse Cuevas decides to take care of the new grounds as well. I hope Lambert Bartak makes a cameo appearance or two during the 7th inning stretch at next year's Series. I hope Zesto's builds a downtown location right across the street from the new ballpark. I hope right field and left field continue their never ending battle for supremacy (a battle which right field will always win because "Left field sucks!"). I hope there is still a place for the countless tailgaters to set up shop and offer free food to complete strangers (namely me) just because they have extra. I hope the mile's worth of merchandise tents make the trip downtown so I can still buy my Florida State gear dirt cheap after they inevitably get eliminated. Most of all, I hope everyone, opponents and advocates of the new stadium alike, embrace the College World Series the same way we always have. After all, the true home of the College World Series is Omaha, and when it comes back this time next year, nothing about that will have changed.