Upon watching the Fresno State Bulldogs come back from a 5-0 deficit to beat the other Bulldogs of Georgia, 19-10, I realized why I love the College World Series.
To lead off, though Tuesday night's game was nowhere near an average for offense in a college game, it seems as if the "offensive explosion" game happens quite a bit.
With the possibility of a standout offensive performance with seemingly any combination of teams, I feel the need to tune in. Defense wins championships, but we all love watching offense.
I am a firm believer that although obviously more talent is on display in professional sports, passion and tradition shine through more on college campuses—and what is better than seeing players giving their all on every play, all to represent their school? This is why college baseball reels me in.
Granted, collegiate football and basketball have players who play for the pride of their schools, but NCAA baseball players leave it all on the line more than their student-athlete counterparts in other sports. Football and basketball players have many other things on their minds.
Collegiate baseball players have a fraction of their games on television each year, and until ESPN starts to air super-regionals in the beginning of June, we don't know All-Americans from pinch-hitters. So after many weekend series during the spring add up to nearly sixty games at the start of the summer, the players still aren't playing in front of a national audience.
The regular seasons seem to have about as much national media attention as the Little League World Series. They watch their classmates shine on Saturday Night Football or Big Monday. Baseball players at their respective schools become almost behind-the-scenes athletes.
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All this says to me is that the men on the diamond aren't playing for anything that they shouldn't be playing for. They lace up the cleats, put on their helmets and step on the field. That's it.
No highly recruited freshman is thinking about his jump to the Majors next year, or his shoe deal he will sign. Senior leaders aren't padding their stats to win a coveted Heisman trophy.
No team is preparing for College Gameday to come to their campus, because college baseball doesn't have College Gameday, even for the showdowns between the biggest rivals.
I know what you're thinking—there are many ESPN networks now that air games, but what sports lover turns on his or her television and puts on a secondary ESPN network, besides ESPN2? I'm not even sure how many there are now, and I definitely don't know what channel they air games on.
The excited announcers are not there to add their great voices and commentary to legendary comebacks in the ninth inning or no-hitters.
College baseball is the purest form of our country's five major sports. Collegiate ballplayers' intentions are what Mr. Doubleday believed they should be from the beginning.
All the players dream of running out a base hit at a major league ballpark, but with the Major Leagues' vast farm system, the chances are greatly lessened. So when these players triumph through the April showers to start their season all the way to the super-regionals in May, they deserve to take the trip to Nebraska.
Though it seems like they have all been drafted, many know that the time of their baseball lives will be in Omaha at the World Series. Whether it's two games and out, or five games and a championship, the College World Series serves as an award show for all of college baseball.
The un-sung, never talked about student-athletes finally get a chance to shine under the national spotlight. All-Americans are finally spoken of, we learn about Cinderella's trip to the World Series, and we hear of coaches that have served for their universities for a quarter-century.
Despite the lack of eyes looking their way throughout each grueling season, the CWS never seems to disappoint. It's wonderful for these few weeks to see how hard these kids play and which players impress.
The national media pays them back for never broadcasting any regular season games, or even early playoff games for that matter. We see great pitching, defense, and the ping of those metals bats more often than not.
The young men, with their eye-black painted faces and dirty, never-washed good luck hats, leave it all on the diamond in Omaha, not only for their school's chance at a title, but for all of college baseball.
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6 months ago
Good article. I agree that College Baseball does have a different feel to it than the major sports, but they certainly still get their fair share of fame -- especially at schools with rich college baseball programs. I think thats something that makes it even more amazing what Fresno is doing, they have not only adjusted to the spotlight but are thriving in it.
6 months ago
Great article. I have said it before and I will say it again, it's a shame that ESPN will show poker instead of regular season college baseball games. I know there are few schools that get 8,500 people at every game, but college baseball is the best TEAM sport out there. The errors, the excitement, the passion, it's all great. I had a great time in Omaha and can't wait to get back there next year. Nothing better than the "PING"!
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