Watching Strangers Play

Would you get up at 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning and fly for six hours to Omaha, Nebraska to watch two teams that are not your alma mater play in the finals of the College World Series?

Yeah, me too!

The best-of-three finals will be played Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (if necessary) by Arizona and the winner of tonight’s game between SEC foes South Carolina and Arkansas.

The SEC has already won the 2012 football title (Alabama beat LSU) and the basketball title (UK beat Kansas). Can they sweep all three major sports? Can the SEC win the presidential election in November? Heck, they’re winning everything else.

Sadly for us Wildcat fans, UK was 5-1 against the two teams competing for the final spot, Arkansas and South Carolina, but was eliminated in the Regionals by a Kent State hit that was incorrectly ruled a home run. But such are the breaks of the game.

As Courier-Journal sportswriter Kyle Tucker Tweeted today:

 “Just one break in Gary [Indiana Regional] and could be Cats.”

Baseball can break your heart, even if you don't root for the Cubs or the Red Sox.

My UNC Diamond Heels were eliminated in the Chapel Hill Regional by St. Johns, then UK lost in Gary. (What the hell were they doing in Gary, Indiana, right?) As it stands, I’ll be watching someone else play in Omaha Sunday and Monday evenings, but I’m stoked. This should be a blast and, as I’ve mentioned before, the CWS is on my bucket list.

All three games will be televised beginning at 8 p.m. on ESPN 2 Sunday and ESPN on Monday and Tuesday. All three will be webcast on ESPN3.com.

I’ll also be posting updates on Twitter throughout the series, including a photo or two. Just follow @BeingSouthern.