College World Series: Is This Heaven? No, It's Omaha...

Matthew Burns is one of many baseball fans who've had a religious experience at the College World Series. Here's his Gospel.

by Matthew Burns (Analyst)

665 reads

Editorial

June 20, 2008

If you've never been to Omaha...go to Omaha.

If you've never seen the College World Series...go to Omaha.

If you've never seen Baseball Heaven...go to Omaha.

If you don't like college baseball/baseball period...go to hell. And that's not Omaha, that's in or around Gainesville, Florida.

But in all honesty...Omaha is more than you can imagine. The sheer rush you get while driving around that hill westbound on I-80 on your way out of Iowa (or, the newest addition to the Great Lakes), makes it worth it alone.

Add to that a hundred thousand fans, a stadium as legendary as Uga, a steak town, a neighborhood that just screams "welcome!" and locals who are calling you in with open arms, and you're in heaven my friend.

I'm telling you, simply incredible. I don't think I said a word for the first 30 minutes we were parked in our tailgate spot.

That tailgate spot happened to be the back yard of someone's trailer, but hey, $5 and a 10 minute walk? I couldn't ask for more, especially while drinking with the fellow Right Field Guys and the guys from the Left Field Lounge, some of the biggest Dawg fans around.

I was in Heaven, and I hadn't even been inside the gates of the stadium.

Standing in the ticket line a few hours later, my knees trembling in excitement and my hands sweating in anticipation, I realized that I had died and was born again.

Well, that born-again feeling actually happened when I stepped into Section E. Just look for the time when your jaw hits the concrete at your feet, and that's when you'll feel it too.

At that point, I didn't care who won really. I didn't really care who was playing, either. I was just glad to be there, experiencing a slice of Heaven.

So if you ever get the chance, go. No, actually, I don't care if you have the chance or not. Forget summer school. Take off from work. Spend the few hundred you have in your wallet. Make the trip. It will change your life.

Editorial

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comments (6) write a comment »

reply to comment by Lisa
2 months ago

LOL....this was fun and funny. Loved it. Gainesville is hell? You are a true Dawg fan.
1. by Justin
  from 2 months ago
  
  he's not so far off with that comment. lol.
reply to comment by Matt
2 months ago

Hate to be the party-pooper here, but it sounds like you're making a big deal out of nothing.
reply to comment by Ryne
2 months ago

Matt, you obviously have never been to Omaha.

As an Omaha resident, it's even hard for me to believe sometimes but from talking to out of town fans they remind me just how special this event that I take for granted is.

Visit Omaha for the College World Series Matt, visit the CWS.

I sat in the heart of the Georgia section off of scalped tickets for the first Stanford-Georgia game and sat next to an older couple who said they would be back every year they were healthy to make the trip whether Georgia was there or not because it was that special.
reply to comment by Justin
2 months ago

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3450651

this isn't a bad read either.
reply to comment by Julissa
2 months ago

Bienvenidos, Welcome to OMAHA!! As a life-time resident and having never sat inside the stadium during the game but knowing the fun begins long before you reach the stadium. I love it and love OMAHA!!!!