What I Will Remember about Rosenblatt Stadium

This week is the final games of the College World Series played in Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. It makes me sad to think of it. This past week I saw my last game from the seats my family has owned since the early 80's. It was postponed early due to rain. I get a little laugh at that.

If you haven't watched the ESPN special called "The Long Home Run" that deals with the history of the CWS, Rosenblatt and Omaha, I highly recommend it. Ignoring Kevin Costner's flaccid narration, the interviews with sports writers, players and Omaha natives make it worthwhile and demonstrate better than I could alone how much the series means to this town and by extension, me. But, I will try, in this brief space, to go back through the past 30 years and remember so much about the place that helped make my summers in Omaha so special.

12. Out-of-state fans
As annoying as they can be, the fans make the game. Whether their team is there or not, they make the energy during the games. LSU fans are probably the ones I like the most. They're fun, they understand the importance of the games and the place, and they're competitive. Texas fans drive me crazy but they are not dull by any means. Cal-State Fullerton fans are ever-present. I only wish that Florida State fans would never come back. Miami fans too. With the exception of the Cowboys and the Huskers, I rarely rooted for a particular team. I was there to watch a good game. I admire fans who love their team so much they make a ritual of the CWS as much as my family does of our trips to Colorado.

11. Booing the ball girl
The pop fly shoots above the head of the umpire and eventually finds itself enveloped in the webbing of the net over the home plate stands. As the ball comes to its zenith and begins to roll back down to earth, some random girl, usually a teen or twentysomething with a loose-fitting bra, would run underneath and try to catch it when it came back down. If she catches it, you cheer. If she misses it, you boo loudly. I remember my parents never liked booing her because they thought it hurt her feelings. I can remember one year in the 90's when people were discouraged from booing her for that very reason. That's crap. It's part of the game and part of being in that position. In the end, the fans loved that girl and the part of the game she played, no matter how many balls she dropped. I know I loved watching her run on and off the field.

10. Snowing at the May Royals game
I didn't attend many Omaha Royals' games over the years. I had a hard time getting into the games. But, I did enjoy each game that I did see. The best and strangest game was from 2008 when Gary Ruiz got some free tickets and invited me to a game in early May. It was an unusually cold May evening and a storm front came through. By the time the game started it was snowing. They were the large, wet flakes that melt almost the instant they make contact with anything solid, but the sky was full of them. I could barely see past the outfield. Gary and I were sitting directly behind home plate (the only game I sat there) and were amazed not only at the strange view, but the majesty of it as well. It may be the only baseball game I see in the snow, and it was a ball.

9. The Creighton-Nebraska game
In 2001 both Creighton and Nebraska made the CWS, but before that they played each other in Rosenblatt. I went there with my friends Kevin, Marshall, Mindi and Kresha. Mindi and Kresha rooted for Crieghton, the rest of us for the Huskers. It was a close game through the sixth inning when the Huskers finally pulled ahead ... just as a massive thunderstorm rolled in. The game was called and the Huskers got the win, but it was watching that beautiful storm with my friends that made the game that special.

8. Dot-sar-ben
Few people seem to remember this game, but aside from the 7th inning stretch, it was one of my favorite things to happen in the CWS games in my youth. On the old, 3-line screen below the scoreboard, three small dots would appear on each line, one dot representing a color of seats. Based on how loud that section yelled (or so I was told), the dot would move across the screen. I loved that match, although my section rarely (if ever) won. This year they had HD-quality movies and graphics on the massive screen made of dozens of smaller screens. Even still, I miss cheering for those dots.

7. Robin Ventura
My parents got CWS tickets because in the 1980's Oklahoma State had a very competitive baseball team. The years when Robin Ventura played, we cheered loudly for the Cowboys. It was the only time in my life when the whole family rooted for the same team. Ventura was amazing. Every time he came up to bat, the crowd expected something great and he rarely let us down. Of all the players I've seen play, he's the one I remember the most. I'm glad he's on the ESPN crew covering the games today. He understands the importance of the game to the players and this town.

6. Nebraska's appearances in the CWS
They were brief, but I remember how huge it was for us all. It made the losses hurt all the more. But I remember watching Joba Chamberlain pitch, just a handful of days after the Yankees drafted him, and hoping the Yanks would see what a great player he is. They did. It'll be a long time until the Huskers are back in the CWS, but I think the fans are at their best when they are.

5. Tank tops
One great thing about Omaha in June ... it means women wear very little clothing when they go out. Their favorite for a night of baseball: tank tops. I've seen such beauty it makes me tear up thinking about it. Plenty of things to see between the innings. Thank you, God, for women and their tank tops.

4. CWS during the college years
I didn't get to see many CWS games during college and while I lived in Chicago. But thanks to ESPN I got to watch some of the games and ceremonies. For a brief time, I felt like I was home. Sure, I couldn't smell the smells, eat the food or truly experience the game, but sitting in my dorm and apartment I felt like I was participating anyway ... and I felt like I was there with my family all over again.

3. The food.
People make fun of me for having almost a set menu of things I need to eat at each CWS game. In truth, it's a list that I sample a little of at each game. Only my brother has so strict a list. Even still, the hot dog, the collector cup for pop, the chocolate malt (it was a travesty when they started selling Blue Bunny malts ... I don't remember who made the ones I had as a kid but they were 1000x better), cotton candy, snow cones, etc. I'm not ashamed to admit that I looked forward to the food as much as the games. To me, it was part of the experience.

2. The view.
From our seats we looked due East out over the field, over the zoo and into Iowa. So many nights I can remember as a kid looking out over that expanse and wondering what the animals were up to, what the folks in Iowa were doing tonight, how beautiful the night sky was in the East. Over the years the view got filled up with the desert dome, expanded bleachers, taking down the ads in the outfield and more and more tress in the zoo. You can barely see Iowa now, but the view is still a joy and a huge part of the game.

1. Our seats
My parents got seats for the CWS in Section N of Rosenblatt, just behind the third-base dugout and just a half-dozen seats away from the cover over the home plate section. From our seats you had a great view of the game, the pitcher, the coaches, the folks on the field and the hardcore fans downbelow. Above all, they were the seats we sat in together. The best nights in Rosenblatt when it was Mom, Dad, Tom and me enjoying a game together. If we all couldn't be there, the Thompsons were great company as well. Those seats and the entire experience is a huge part of my youth. I can't imagine a June without at least 1 CWS game in there.

Hopefully the new stadium will be just as enjoyable as Rosenblatt, but it can never be replaced. I will miss the stadium, but I'll always have the memories.