Gearing up for the "Dig-us" Festival

What a great weekend.

I got the hell away from you people, which is always a blessing, and I caught some decent fish as well. (Not a lot, but some keepers) Even though Father’s day is still a week away, it was nice to get away from the everyday for a while and head back home.

But…..now I’m back and ready to not only deal with you people..but also the annual black-plague that hits this town for 10+ days at a time. Yes, I’m talking about my FAVORITE pastime in all of sports…the College World Series.

For those of you from out of town, I don’t expect you to get the rest of this. This is something that you really have to see and feel to believe. And yes, I do have my reasons for being the only person in town who hates the annual, “Look how great we are” festival that invades South Omaha. I know I know, it looks great on TV and everybody says what an awesome time it is. But you see, that’s part of the problem. It USED to be an awesome time. It USED to be a celebration of baseball. No corporate tents. No sponsor areas. No giant blow-up aluminum bats, flyovers, sushi, jazz bands and anything else that CWS inc and the NCAA have thrown together to make one of the greatest amateur events in the nation look like a a cross between giant little-league tournament and Millard Days.

I’m not going to get into ALL of the specifics, because all you have to do is look at my archives…and just about every June, you’ll see the same post. So for that, I’ll spare you the details once again. However, I want the rest of you to know just how bad Omaha is screwing up what was once an outstanding event and something truly to be proud of.

For you see, as if 21-15 games weren’t fun enough, Omaha has decided to turn the series into Frat-boy central with the advent of multiple beer tents. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again…I like beer. I like beer a lot. But if you’re bragging about what a great festival of Americana you have going on, wouldn’t you think you’d be smart enough to try and tone down things so they don’t look like Bourbon street on the plains? If Tom Shatel is going to write his 15 articles this week about how people should take their kids to games, and wax nostalgic about what a great town Omaha is (and he will..over and over)…then don’t you owe it to Tom not to turn the parking lot into Arrowhead stadium? (Which again..I love…but if you’re going to brag about your wholesome-ness….try and tone down the beer.)

And yes, people will talk about the series moving…Dennis Poppe will get in front of a microphone…his barely-visible red horns peering from behind his sunglasses, and say with a straight face that "The Series should always belong to Omaha" as both of his hooves are crossed. It’s as predictable as the sun coming up in the East, and as a long-time resident who actually grew up going to CWS games…I just assume the damn thing pack up and leave before Omaha drowns in a pool of their own slobber coming from out of their collective ears.

More to come this week, as more and more articles come out about peanut vendors, parking attendants, t-shirt salesmen and sound technicians …since every single other story has been written 1,000 times over about the same shit again and again. Hell, I’ve done it three straight years now and I don’t even like the flippin thing.

*** Rumor is starting to circulate that Mo Purify is going to be suspended for two games. Yes…TWO whole games for getting arrested twice in 5 weeks. Again, if/when that happens, I will not comment on Purify himself, because he obviously has issues. But if/when that does happen, I will of course look to you as the red-blooded, egotistical hypocrites that you are..and demand to ask how you live with yourselves every day…when all you do is whine and complain about how everybody who rails on you for being a “thug program” is really just jealous.

Don’t say I didn’t tell you so when it happens. Just make sure you come at me with more shit about what a great “disciplinarian” Callahan is. Hell, at least Osborne played dumb. Should be interesting to see how ol’ Bill spins it.

Can’t wait.

PING