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COLLEGES:Omaha's images remain

June 26, 2007|By Barry Faulkner

Traffic stops and pedestrians pause, by order of mounted police, when the busses carrying the participants cruise up the hill on 13th Street, then swing left onto College World Seies Boulevard toward Rosenblatt Stadium.

But the Road to Omaha isn't traveled merely by those in uniform.

Unveiled by ESPN cameras for nearly three decades, the home of the College World Series has represented a mecca, of sorts, to fans with varying degrees of fanaticism.

Toward the heat and humidity of the heartland both casual and committed baseball migrants willingly flock.

I'd always secretly plotted to find my way, as well, though a June departure was clearly a round hole to the logistical square peg of my responsibilities at the Daily Pilot.

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That all changed, however, when the UC Irvine Anteaters rode a remarkable postseason to Rosenblatt, taking me along for the ride.

During 10 days in Omaha, I seized enough memories to last a lifetime, though Coach Dave Serrano and his staff believe they may return soon.

Some samplings of those memories:

  • The arched entryway to the stadium, under which dozens of future Major League players have shuffled right alongside ticket holders on the way to the clubhouse.

  • The vibrant blue (lower), yellow (middle) and red (higher level) seats that are quickly submerged by patrons when the stadium opens.

  • The first-base line, unfolding perpendicularly to my overhead press-box perch along the third-base side.

  • The rustic, windmill-style light towers that predate the arrival of television.

  • The phrase "Tradition Doesn't Graduate" on the back of a fan's T-shirt.

  • More UCI caps — purchased at a swap meet of merchants — than have ever walked the venerable campus on Campus Drive.

  • Mississippi State Coach Ron Polk's defiant honesty in the face of NCAA brass.

  • A view from beyond both foul poles, obtained by a short lap around the stadium.

  • The alternating cheers (for catches) and boos (for misses) directed at the ball girls, who spring from a door behind home plate to shag foul balls off the backstop screen.

  • Arizona State Coach Pat Murphy's black T-shirts, each imprited with a different Bruce Springsteen song title in white letters across his chest.

  • Cal State Fullerton Coach George Horton's hypnotic, home-spun perspective (on just about everything).

  • UCI senior Zach Robinson, the Anteaters' self-appointed dugout captain, calling the shots on myriad bench rituals.

  • The back-page poster of the daily special section produced by the Omaha World-Herald.

  • The collection of flags in center field, one representing each school, being systematicalty lowered to half-staff, as each successive team was eliminated.

  • The dense green tree foliage that enveloped the landscape beyond the center field and left field wall.

  • The geodesic dome and pyramid-inspired structures that sit just beyond right field and house the Henry Dooley Zoo and an Imax theater, respectively.

  • A real-life organist.

  • The sinking sun still glaring at the right fielder at 9 p.m.

  • The camera-snapping visitors recording their presence for eternity around "The Road to Omaha" statue near the home-plate entrance.

  • Louisville's 5-foot-3 shortstop, Chris Cates.

  • Oregon State's baggy "Bingo Long All-Stars" uniform pants.

  • The Sun Devils' Barry Bonds throwback mustard socks under high maroon stirrups.

  • The gathering pregame masses at Eater Nation.

    BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.

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