We are just now settling down after our 7th straight day in Omaha. No one could have predicted this and we certainly were not prepared for it, logistically or even emotionally. But just being here in the middle of this tradition and excitement is exhilarating as well as exhausting. It has been one of the great times of our lives though in so many ways and we are so grateful. If you will indulge me (close this email now if not), I will continue with some of our thoughts and descriptions of this experience here in Omaha since Monday when I last reported:
> We were pretty shocked to see that Florida State was the first team in
the tournament on Monday to be eliminated as they were really good -- it meant that Gavin's high school classmate there, Jack Rye and he would not have the chance we had hoped to play on the same field during this tournament. Jack was drafted in the 13th round by the New York Yankees and will be deciding what to do this summer -- a great kid and sorry for no FSU /FSU matchup
> I meant to also pass along that on Sunday we went to the Omaha Zoo
which is one of the best we have ever seen -- a few too many bugeaters
there though, and some of them probably should have been in cages
instead of the animals
> Tuesday we had lunch with the guys before they loaded the bus about
3PM for the UNC game -- 4 police escorts this time
> We stood in line for parent tix (passes though the school for a long time at the stadium before the game; we were waiting for the LSU / Rice game to get over which LSU ended up winning in the bottom of the 9th. That game eliminated Rice (our Sunday 17-5 victim) and sent them packing -- I was happy about that as I had learned the day before that their 8th inning pitcher (Cole St Clair from Foothill HS in OC) had thrown at Gavin intentionally in retaliation for one of their guys getting hit accidentally earlier in the game -- have a nice flight Owls! Hope you enjoyed Omaha........
> We finally got in the stadium about an hour before game time -- kids
seemed very loose and unaffected again
> UNC has a ton of fans here (not as many as LSU) including Roy Williams
who I saw in the stands
> Rosenblatt is an incredible venue but it is a bit tired and the City
of Omaha just entered into a 25 year deal with the NCAA to keep it in
Omaha with the city agreeing to a new stadium -- there are great views
from all of the seats but apparently when it was built the people of
Omaha had much skinnier backsides and were much shorter bugeaters than
now -- not very comfortable
> Karen was very nervous before the game but I honestly had a good feeling -- I have done so much reading since getting here and in
looking at UNC, it was pretty clear that they had not played anybody very difficult to get here -- they had beaten Elon, St Mary's, Coastal
Carolina and Eastern Carolina -- we had to beat 4 top ten teams to get here
> It was a really good baseball game and we battled through some adversity in it for sure using 5 pitchers in of the best team pitching games I have ever seen -- Gavin had a great night going 2 for 4 with a sac bunt but had a difficult night in the outfield getting to some balls that would have been highlight reel material if he gets to them -- no errors, just some plays he really wanted
> the T-shirts continued to get lots of attention and the cameras were on them from everywhere -- literally
> At the end of this 5-3 win, I have to say we were in some shock, particularly in light of our pitching situation, but no one was more shocked than UNC -- won't soon forget the expressions on their faces
> The crowd around the bus after the game was enormous -- maybe 500-700 people with 100+ media doing post-game coverage and interviews
> We finally got back to the hotel about 10 and met the boys at Old Chicago for pizza and a few beers before their 11:30 curfew kicked in
> Tuesday had been a wonderful day and the game was the biggest any of these kids had ever played -- nobody gave us a chance (Vegas odds were 25-1) but we beat #2 in the nation UNC convincingly and we are now in the "final four" -- I am reluctant to say it but with a 2-0 record, we are just three wins away from the national championship. Of the last 20 champions, 18 were 2-0 at this point like us now....... WOW!
> Wednesday would be an off day and a chance for me to get some work done and try and maintain some level of normalcy
> the team began their day visiting the Omaha Childrens Hospital where they gave out balls and signed autographs -- it was really a nice thing for them to do and I hear the children loved it but our guys may have gotten even more out of it than the kids -- they may be going back tomorrow
> we had lunch with 5 of the players in the Old Market part of town which is an old restored warehouse district with lots of restaurants, bars and shopping -- great place and Omaha really does not lack for good food and cool places
> I avoided numerous confrontations with Cornhusker fans who don't seem to acknowledge that it is not football season and their baseball team is not playing yet they continue to only wear “N” gear
> Had a couple of very nice talks with Gavin about what all of this meant and the far-reaching impact the College World Series was having on him and us -- he is very humble and unassuming about it all really (even though they have played in front of 45,000 fans in the last two games) and agrees that there is a feeling of God at work in all of this in so many ways for so many people -- not in "winning" but in bringing people together, humility, and showing us the unexpected
> Karen made a deal with Gavin that if he got 2 hits in the UNC game that she would arrange a massage for he and Dany Grubb, hid best friend and catcher -- they love this as they are pretty beat up and have now played almost 80 games since early February -- so the went over to the Omaha Tantric House of Massage (no joke) and got in for an hour each -- they had a great hour and it helped them with some of their aches and pains
> Still trying to kill time, we drove over the Missouri river to Iowa (less than a mile) and saw a really crappy movie -- The Happening -- donate your money to charity and do not see this M. Night Shyamalan joke of a movie
> We got back in time to catch a little of the Stanford - Miami game and were actually not that surprised to see #1 Miami eliminated last night -- Stanford was unranked and this is just another example of the east coast bias in college sports ranking a Miami higher than they should have been and ignoring a lot of talented teams in the West
> Thursday was another down day and another chance to get caught up on work and get some laundry done
> I did a couple of interviews about the "Underddogs to Wonderdogs" T-shirts for ESPN, a Fresno TV station and the Omaha Review and Journal -- these thing have really taken on a life of their own and we have now given out 11 dozen having received a shipment of 4 dozen more today
> Shirts were such a big hit that I got a nice visit from the Fresno State Athletic Director and Athletic Department Director of Marketing -- seems they are getting calls from all over the country about these things and the slogan is exploding with the team's success and only expected t grow more. They told me that they appreciated and were fine with what we had done (using their logo but our idea and word) but now had 4 attorneys working on it and and were licensing the Underdogs to Wonderdogs slogan with the Bulldog emblem for sale -- they were nice enough to ask if I was OK with that and said that royalties from it will be specifically directed to a baseball scholarship fund -- as of 4PM today the shirts were appearing on the school's website for sale and available for sale at the Bulldog apparel outlets in Fresno at noon tomorrow -- amazing!
We were planning today as our last down day before game tomorrow and began watching the UNC - LSU game this evening around 6PM. With UNC up 2-0 in the 1st inning, a huge thunderstorm moved into the city and it poured here this evening causing that game to be postponed. That then has caused our game tomorrow to be postponed until Saturday at 6 PM CDT. That means an extra down day for everyone -- oh well it beats the alternative. With our other kids (Kenan and Garrett) finishing school this week, they are at home and we miss them and are honestly a bit homesick and maybe with as much as another week to go here in Omaha for us. They are staying with our 27-year old babysitter who also babysat Kyle and Gavin when they were 5. But this experience is just too good to be true and we continue to just pinch ourselves everyday and to be thankful for this wonderful opportunity. We so appreciate all of your support and interest in what is going on here and are grateful for so many caring friends.
Go Dogs!!
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