Omaha Reminds Me of "Bull Durham"

I love sports--this is a shock to no one. But there are two times of the year where I can barely have a conversation without being distracted by the television: College Basketball's March Madness and the College World Series. Both of these distractions become far more exasperated if any of the following teams are involved: Gonzaga Bulldogs, (South*) Carolina Gamecocks, Notre Dame and Clemson.

This weekend my baby brother and his girlfriend game to visit. We went out to eat on Sunday, and I, of course, made sure the waiter turned the nearest television to ESPN2 so that I could watch Coach Tanner and the Gamecocks. I contributed to conversation for the most part while constantly looking at the television. This only got worse when we got back to my place.

 My mom called around the top of the 9th--I feigned conversation, and then bluntly told my mom, "Gotta go. It's the bottom of the 9th and the Cocks are batting." (I think I did mumble an "I love you" before I hung up.) Then my husband tried to tell me a story when Robert Beary hit a double and I screamed at the TV. At that point everyone in the room realized, don't talk to Polly until the game is over. The end of the game didn't take too long, but with a tied score of 4 to 4, the anticipation always seems to drag it out. After the bases were loaded, Scott Wingo hit in the winning run. And the Gamecocks won their first game in Omaha; something they didn't even do when they won the Series last year.

It was awesome! But, I think the most hilarious moment of the evening was listening to Wingo's post-game interview. It reminded me of the scene in Bull Durham when Crash Davis is telling Ebby Calvin LaLoosh the appropriate wording and phrases to say in an interview; and it was painfully obvious that no such lecture was given to Wingo. He said the word "battle" as a verb at least 7 times in an interview that totalled at most one minute and 45 seconds.

Crash Davis from Bull Durham.

 Don't get me wrong Scott Wingo is young, and he will have plenty of time to learn. Being a (not really) new Los Angeleno, I look forward to seeing him play for the Dodgers. And just in case he doesn't have is own Crash Davis, here's a sample of a well-rehearsed speech:
* The asterisk is for anyone who may not have been sure which team I was referring to if I had just said "Carolina." But for future reference, if Pondering Polly says "Carolina" or "USC," it means the University of South Carolina.

"I'm just happy to be here, and I hope I can help the ball club. I just want to give it my best shot, and the good Lord willing things will work out. You got to play 'em one day at a time. A good friend of mine use to say, 'This is a simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And sometimes it rains.'"