College World Series

If Omaha is known for anything, it's the College World Series. Never heard of it? Me neither, until last year when I accidentally found myself in the midst of it. To re-cap, the College World Series (CWS) is the baseball world series for college teams. Each year, the top college teams make the trek to Omaha and compete for the title of champion. If you didn't think that people cared much about college sports, think again! Maybe it's a Midwest thing, or maybe it's a phenomenon found in states where college-sports is all they have. Either way, CWS is nothing to glaze over.

It's the biggest two weeks of the year for Omaha. Thousands of fans from all over the country flood into this humble town and transform it entirely. The games are played at the Rosenblatt stadium, a historic feature in town, right next to the Henry Doorly zoo (Omaha's second major claim to fame). Home to the Omaha Royals, it's a stadium right out of the Americana text book. During the regular baseball season, the Royals host 'Thirsty Thursdays', which translates to watching a game in the stadium on a warm summer evening, drinking dollar beers! It's brilliant. But for these two weeks, this little stadium is transformed into the central feature of the production that is, CWS!

Rosenblatt Stadium

Most people never even go to a game. Sure, the die-hard fans insist on going, but the mayhem and excitement is outside the stadium, in the streets. It's nearly impossible to drive anywhere close to the stadium, due to the hoards of people. You get within a few miles of the stadium and you pay some kid $20 to park in his driveway, and even those driveways are coveted and hard to come by. Then, the long walk, through the crowd. Last year, as well as this year, we bought tickets to hang out in a fenced-off, tented area that provides all the food and beer that you want for the whole day. So, some eating, drinking, mingling, and games took place. Then a few trips down the road to a bar or two throughout the day. Each bar is packed, inside and out. Fans are dressed in their team colors, and are usually all grouped together. Random team chants break out, usually followed by 'Ole ole ole ole, Ollleee, Ollee'. All the streets and sidewalks are lined with booths and tents, selling team paraphernalia. Scalpers are shouting on every street corner, asking if you have or need tickets. Faces are painted. Flags are draped around shoulders. And the excitement is palpable.

Mike, Brad, and I

I'm also not sure if it's the fact that I have never been very in tune with college sports, or if California just doesn't give it any attention. Either way, there is a whole culture of college sports and college sports' fans that I was completely unaware of until I moved here. The team spirit and dedication is unmatched and really something to behold. And Omaha, during these two weeks especially, is the quintessential picture of that reality. It's a sight to see, and I recommend you visit Omaha sometime during this event! Or, just come visit me whenever, I'm not picky.....