For most of my life, college baseball has been that “oh yeah, it’s on” sport that you see but never actually watch when you flip through the channels sprawled out on your sofa early in the summer trying to shake off a hangover from the pool party you went to yesterday where you got shot-down by every girl in attendance.
Fun times.
But, living in a college town now, I’ve been exposed to the sport on a more regular basis; enough to encourage me to follow the post-season with a closer eye. And, holy shit, college baseball is freaking awesome!
In just this one postseason, we’ve had Kenny Powers dressed in a Virginia uniform, a future first round pitcher with a Captain Hook stache and a bandana under his hat spitting 102 mph fastballs, another pitcher who sends the ladies wild by refusing to wear an undershirt or button his jersey, a dude shoving a teammate’s head into his crotch rapid-fire style, a fan-base jello shot challenge that has its own Twitter page and has, to date, resulted in $249,305 worth of jello shots being purchased, fans loaded out of their minds throwing parties in the stands, and a College World Series that has routinely delivered a heaping dose of close, dramatic games with the highest of stakes.
On top of the sheer fun of it all, it is a college sport which means that it comes fully packaged with all of the typical elements that make college sports in general so great; the unbridled passion of the fan bases, the unpredictability of the games, the campuses, the pageantry, the tradition, the cinderellas, all of the stuff that gives you the feels.
Can it match college football and basketball? No, of course not. But, it’s awesome nonetheless and is helping me keep my mind off the fact that the college football season has entered that “so close, but still so far away” spot on the calendar. I’m watching the games, following it on social media, betting non-stop on it, and having a hell of a time.
If you’re looking for something to keep you occupied during the sports dead-period that is the summer, do yourself a favor and give college baseball a shot.