Omaha - Not What I Expected

As a UT Alum Class of '86, I've heard the stories of Omaha with Texas and the winning tradition, number of appearances, National Championships, etc. Almost like a magical place for a Longhorn fan.

So, after Texas ousted ECU, one of my adult sons said - Wanna go to Omaha and I said Yes. We bought tickets for Game 1 and it was either Grand Stands or OF. I picked RF seats (didn't know it was right below the big screen).

Drove up to Lincoln Thurs, stayed at an AirBnb in East Lincoln, which was very nice.
We headed into Omaha early on Friday to check out the stadium. 1-3:30PM shopped in the 'mall' area. Got in line at front gate 5:10

What I expected: Streets filled with burnt orange crowds doing Texas Fight throwing up the Hookem sign.

What I found: Thousands of fans wearing non-descript colors, thousands (not kidding) youth baseball players, many of which love doing Horns down. Texas is despised by everyone for sure. A few burnt orange fans here and there.

What I expected: To walk into the game BEFORE the National Anthem.

What I found: We stood in the heat for an hour bc the stadium crew apparently doesn't know how to transition between games. Talked to many ND folks during that time. Again, not much burnt orange. We sang the National Anthem on the steps. Walked in just before first pitch.

Had seats in Section 135 RF behind the ND bullpen.

What I expected: Clean seats

What I found: Trash, beer cans, peanuts covering all the benches and our seats in RF. Huge mess, we shoved it aside and sat down - far, far away from home plate.

What I expected: Groups of Longhorn fans and focusing on the game.

What I found: WHERE ARE THE LONGHORN FANS? In Section 135, there were 2 other fans in burnt orange. The rest made up of youth baseball teams and a few ND fans. Little leaguers and coaches were more interested in talking about their tournament highlights from earlier in the day. I feel like I missed most of the Horns game.

Stadium was packed with 25K and I bet 15-20K weren't fans of either team. Section 100, 101 had a group of ND fans but I couldnt'see or hear a contingent of Horn fans. Maybe bc it was CWS opening night game and groups had pre-purchased in April.

Even when Texas made a play, there was no one to celebrate with. It was like going to a game for 2 other teams. That was the biggest surprise for me. Maybe, I was so far away - top row in RF, I couldn't see Horn fans but they were quiet if they were there.

Finally,

What I expected: A venue that focused on the tradition of college baseball.

What I found: A generic, though nice, baseball venue. Nothing about Championship teams of the past. MCWS was the focus on shirts.
Tiny scoreboard by 3B side and nice OF replay screen - unless you're sitting right below it.

The results of the Horns-ND game were - just baseball. We lost. But I would've had more fun at the Disch on a Tuesday night game.
Drove back on Saturday and watched our team get bounced by aggy today.

Will I go back? Probably, but with better decisions on seating, parking, etc.
IDK, a lot of work for 1 game. I would not sit in the OF again. Still tired from the 28 hrs up and back, but it was an experience.

Omaha / CWS has been romanticized over the years on TV, I had set expectations very high.
I probably missed out by not going to Rosenblatt.

On the positive side, if I ever had to move to Nebraska, Lincoln is a nice spot.

HOOKEM!

 

I am also UT '86. Back in college, we always talked about going to Omaha but we never did. When my brother (Class of '87) and I finally went in '05, I wondered why the hell did we wait so long? Of course it helped that we won it all, but also it was at Rosenblatt. We went back in '09 and lost the final to LSU, havent been back since. I have wondered if the Chuck is as good as the Blatt, sounds like not so much.

 

Texas is not the Texas of old. Recent students and graduates care less and less about Texas. Its sad and obvious with the last 10+ years of admissions. We're turning into Stanford of the Southwest while the "passionate students" are going to other universities. Better get used to nobody traveling to games.

 

I'm class of '86 too (law school), and also class of '83 (undergrad). Disappointed to read about your experience, TexasFight. I was at Omaha in '04 (crushing loss to Cal St. Fullerton) and '09 (even more crushing loss to LSU). Both were at Rosenblatt. I remember enjoying '04 more because we hung out at the Hornfans.com tailgate with Robert and Katy and the bunch (the whole experience was like a week-long tailgate party). I don't remember doing that in 2009, not sure why. I remember tons of Longhorn fans at both events, though. I do think it's a better experience staying in Omaha, especially in the Old Market area (lots of cool hotels and bars/restaurants).

 

I made it up to Omaha in 2003, 2004, and 2005 so all of my experiences were at the old Rosenblatt stadium. I still think of those as the most fun sports trips I ever made (even more fun a trip than the '06 Rose Bowl though I still view that Rose Bowl as best sports game I have ever been to). Disappointing to hear your experience wasnt that good as I look back fondly on my three trips to Omaha. It is a different time and different fandom. I worried that the move to the new stadium would hurt some of the incredible feel of the CWS and sadly yours is not the only story showing that worry came to fruition.

 

Sad but very true.. Last year Miss.State and Tennessee came in mass. Texas had just family and some fans.

 

For those who've been in recent years, what's the tailgate scene like at Charles Schwab Field? The scene around the Blatt was great, a big part of the overall experience, I think. The teams that haven't been there as much (like Miss State, Tenn and aggy) will probably always outnumber the fans of teams that are in Omaha frequently. It's more of a novelty for those fans.

 

Agree. I went to Rosenblatt 3x and TD Ameritrade twice. The new stadium has no character. If it weren’t for the CWS logo on shirts, jumbotron, etc. you’d never know you are watching a championship.

Rosenblatt was special. It’s hard to put into words, but I explain it as

Rosenblatt was a 2 wk long party for fans (whether your team is there or not). It WAS the CWS.
TD Ameritrade (Schwab) feels more like a business meeting. The CWS is the primary tenant, but you’d never know it.

nothing like this will be made about the current stadium…

 

The people of Omaha embraced the CWS as *their* world series. What I found there were people who were baseball fans first and they followed and knew a lot about the teams that were playing in the CWS each year. They usually picked a favorite. I definitely experienced that the 2 times I was there. As I said before, I have not been to the new stadium but my sense is the fans in Omaha (my company has a big plant outside Omaha so I have visited there a few times since) are still kinda broken-hearted over the loss of Rosenblatt and are therefore reticent to embrace Schwab (changing it's name already doesn't help, too MLB like) even tho it's been over 10 years. To them, to even try to recreate the Rosenblatt atmosphere at the new place is somehow being disloyal to the old girl. I can understand that.

 

Phil, well then is it time to move on from Omygod to a town that has a baseball field and townsfolk who absolutely go bonkers to land the CWS?

 

NO one answered my question before - does each team no longer get assigned a host group? Kiwanis, Rotary, Exchange, Lions Club

Seemed like we got Rotary a number of years and they were great.

If it is moved, out it indoors; no more five hour delays.

 

In game 2, there were no beach balls in the OF. My son didn’t know it was a tradition. Have seen 2 in Ark/Ole Miss game tonight.

The fan bases seem more defined after opening day,

One thing I will remember- sitting in the parking lot in the truck AC, waiting for OU to finish Aggy - an elderly couple with Cornhusker gear pulled out 2 Nebraska chairs and sat under a shade tree. Had a cooler with snacks. Then 2 more people showed up with chairs.

When the game was over and we got back to the truck there were 6 people sitting under the tree, very cordial. I heard one say to another, “What year did we lose him?”

I think they were there continuing a tradition which had gone on for who knows how many years. Honoring friends and memories. Not there to watch a game but to replay good times. Coolest thing I saw in Omaha.

 

Was here, there is plenty of room, lots of room in fact. A number of tailgates from all the different schools, but I didn't see one that had more than a dozen people at it. Most partying and gathering was at Blatt's and Rocco's.

 

Wife and I went to the site yesterday. It's tough to look at it now with just the foul poles still there and markers where the bases were. I found myself standing where I thought my dad and I sat in '89 and hearing him rag Ben McDonald as he walked back to the dugout after we chased him early in that semifinal. Then stood at the 3rd base coaches box where Wayne Graham laid down so Omar could make the throw home in that epic play. Then looked at the right foul pole and thought of Chance Wheless banging one out just inside it with a broken wing. The new place, while nice, is corporate. There is no homeiness to it, it's sterile. It was quite sad and I'm grateful for having been able to experience Rosenblatt while it was here.

 

Sad but true. The question will be which programs are rising with fans who care and do travel?