ADOB: Another Carolina roast, another chance to reflect

A spring of surprise became a summer of shock Monday when Auburn qualified for its first College World Series appearance since 1997.

In March, the Tigers thumped North Carolina on their way to the Final Four.

On this day, in their stadium, the Tigers thumped the Tar Heels once again to earn a trip to Omaha. Both games were Auburn upsets. Both games were breakthrough performances. And both of these victories will be remembered for a long time.

Watching Auburn celebrate on the field at Boshamer Stadium Monday was cathartic — on several levels. The players, well, they were a couple regular-season losses away from missing the NCAA Tournament entirely. They were left for dead by most everyone aside from Auburn people and now they're headed to college baseball's biggest stage.

Those cheers were months in the making; the function of a topsy-turvy season fraught with pitching injuries and hitting slumps that would have wrecked most teams. These players and this team turned things around when almost nobody considered it possible. They made it. They very much deserve this moment.

Still, their cheers don't resonate with me.

I keep thinking about Rod Bramblett, who served as the Voice of Auburn Baseball long before he became the Voice of Everything Auburn. He would have loved this. Rod and broadcast partner Andy Burcham have called hundreds of games since the 1997 season, so many games, and always wanted to call a few more from Omaha.

Now, a few weeks after Rod's tragic passing, Auburn qualifies for Omaha.

That brings me to this: People sometimes ask me about my favorite moment after having witnessed Auburn compete throughout the past decades. I always mention the usuals, but I also always mention a generally forgotten Super Regional game between Auburn and Florida State from the 1999 season.

I mention it because Brent Schoening put together, in my estimation, the most valiant, single pitching performance I've ever seen that night. The junior was magical. He hit 100 pitches in the seventh, but refused to leave. When he finally yielded to reliever Colter Bean with one out in the ninth, Schoening's pitch count was at 137. He'd given every last ounce of energy to keep Florida State at bay. Auburn led 3-2.

The Seminoles ended up winning for reasons that don't matter and haven't mattered for 20 years.

Schoening made one start at the 1997 College World Series, a messy performance in a loss to Stanford, and always wanted to get back to Rosenblatt Stadium to make amends.

Schoening, who died in 2009, never got that chance.

So many Auburn players never got their chance. An entire generation of Tigers missed the opportunity that this team on this day has earned.

Winning in Omaha will be tough, but these Tigers are tough as well.

Winning will be important. Yet appreciating what that trip means — understanding that the dreams of so many former players and one fallen broadcaster are forever attached to it — holds the key to making this trip a success.

"For as long as you live, you'll be able to walk back and be a World Series guy," coach Butch Thompson told his team Monday afternoon.

Omaha isn't a destination; it's an achievement and an affirmation.

Cherish it as such.