STULTZ: Redemption in crossing off a bucket list item
OMAHA | It was at one of the lowest points of my adult life when I was last in this Nebraska city in November 2018. Fresh off moving 3,000 miles for a job that I would resign from just three months later, I was making the cross-country drive for the second time and decided to stop in Omaha for a night.
It was a rainy Sunday, appropriate for my mood as my former boss, who had asked me to do things that aren’t precisely ethical when it comes to journalism, kept texting me, telling me I was a crappy writer, that I was a failure. I blocked every way he could communicate with me and took a walk, quickly finding myself next to TD Ameritrade Park. Wearing an Auburn hat, I decided to take a selfie of just the top of my head with the stadium’s billboard in the background.
This was when I said, “Hey, maybe I should post this on Twitter and tag Butch Thompson.” The Tigers had been so close to making it to Omaha the spring before, losing to Florida in extra innings in the deciding Game 3. So, with the picture, I posted the message, “Hey @3strikes_au, why don’t we meet back here in June?”
Well, Thompson and his Tigers lived up to the deal, ramming through the Georgia Tech regional and Super Regional in Chapel Hill to reach the College World Series for the first time in 22 years. On the other hand, I couldn’t make the trip as I had just started a new job for Major League Baseball. I sure as hell wasn’t going to miss it this time.
This is a long way of saying this was a bucket list item for me in my career. I have quite a few and, luckily, have been able to check some of them off. But this one was near the top of the list, if not at the top. And it has lived up to the hype.
It’s strange that a spot in the Midwest not exactly known for producing great baseball talent is the home of this event, but it works. Oh my lord, it works. People seem happy here, like they are living a dream they don’t want to wake up from. It doesn’t matter if their team is even here. Groups of fans make the pilgrimage, set up their tailgates, and the party begins.
As Auburn took the field in front of 24,000-plus on Saturday, it was amazing to see these players that I’ve covered for the past several months realize what was happening; they were on the biggest stage in their sport. Of course, that was even apparent on Thursday at practice in Charles Schwab Field. There was extra energy, an extra pop in their throws during infield and swings during batting practice.
And, let’s be honest, it was fantastic to stand on the field, look around and realize that, holy cow, I’m covering a College World Series. Sometimes we can take for granted what we get to do for a living. We become jaded, not recognizing that we’re covering an Iron Bowl or on field level at Death Valley in Baton Rouge. I remember walking up the tunnel of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and having to slap myself to take a moment to realize how much history has taken place in that spot.
So yeah, being at the College World Series as a reporter for the first time has been a life-altering event, even if Auburn took it on the chin on Saturday. It’s incredible that my bosses have faith in me to travel here and provide excellent coverage for you, the readers. But, most of all, it is a redemption moment for the last time I was at Omaha, not knowing what was next and in a deep state of depression that lasted for several months.
A bucket list item checked off. Damn, that feels great.