A couple of badly timed flight times disallowed me from seeing any of Thursday's game live and all but the first two innings of today's WCWS game. That might actually be a good thing because I tend to get grumpy in losses and not see the forest through the trees.
This season has been about as dramatic as it can get and will go down as a milestone in Gopher lore. Five or six bats needed to be replaced in the lineup going into this year (including a massive bat that bolted teammates weeks before the season) and the Gophs, to their credit, succussfully did that and more. Several early frustratingly-close losses on the road against NCAA host teams taught the Gophs what it takes to compete at a high level, and it probably earned them some respect nationally. It was fun watching several first-time starters grow in to their roles and even more exciting to see some seasoned starters ratchet it up a notch throughout the season. These WCWS losses will teach them even more.
The leadership of Houlihan and Arneson will be missed as well as a strong #2 in Smith, but an extremely strong core is returning. Can't wait to see how it all plays out.
The Gophs beating two hot SEC teams at home in post-season proved to the NCAA that northern teams can win too with home cooking. Maybe the reason the SEC won so many regionals at home over the years is because.....
they were at home for post-season and non-conference and not necessarily because the SEC is that much better than everyone else. On a side note, I developed a new found respect for Oklahoma this year as they played a ton of road games this year too.
Now.... early next season as soon as season tickets go on sale, someone remind me to get off my butt and purchase early so I can get back into the chairbacks so I'm not relegated to G.A. seats again
