In an era of dominated by conversations about NIL, the transfer portal and congressional legislation, it’s nice to get a reminder of why we fell in love with these sports in the first place.
Monday night, with eyes on the Women’s College World Series and tournament in college baseball, a scene out of Morgantown, West Virginia, seemingly brought fans together amid the ongoing chaos.
Sometimes, it just takes a good reminder.
In game seven of the Morgantown Regional, with the playing West Virginia for a spot in the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals (the next round), the scene looked more like a Saturday afternoon of college football.
But, if you’re unfamiliar, welcome to the world of college baseball.
The night before, West Virginia scored five runs in the final inning to secure the win. On Monday, the Mountaineers would be the ones needing to hold on, leading 5-1 through seven innings.
Now, with their tournament hopes on the line, it was going to be another nervous night for fans in Morgantown. This time, once again though, West Virginia sent their fans into a frenzy, thanks to a walk-off single from first baseman Armani Guzman that turned a Monday night showdown into one massive party.
What came next was pure cinema, as the kids would say.
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Thousands of fans, arm-in-arm, with John Denver playing over the loudspeakers, singing “Country Roads” in unison as they celebrated being one step closer to the College World Series in Omaha.
It doesnt get much better than this, I don’t care what team you root for.
What could possibly make the moment even better? How about West Virginia’s Armani Guzman, who grew up in New York, joining the crowd in singing “Country Roads” while wearing a headset to talk with the announce team.
Lost in the overwhelming noise that comes with enjoying college athletics nowadays is the pure joy that comes from watching your favorite team provide moments you certainly won’t forget.
And yes, I will be the first to admit that what we are currently seeing in college athletics can be nauseating at times. There are times when you have no idea the names of 50% of your favorite team’s roster, thanks to the transfer portal becoming such a factor in recruiting.
There is also the overwhelming feeling that fans have lost the ability to connect with players on a yearly basis, given the current dilemma of how much money one team can offer over the other playing such a factor in what the roster will look like.
But, there are times when we are quickly reminded of why some enjoy collegiate sports over the professional product.
On Monday night, we were provided that moment all across the country as baseball teams fought their way through the NCAA Tournament.
At the same time, the Women’s College World Series continued to prove why it’s such an underrated sport, as and Texas Tech battled for a spot in the national championship.
If you’re new here, welcome to college baseball and softball.
If you’re a regular, you most certainly didnt need this reminder. But, I imagine you still enjoyed it.
