April 9
Baseball at the Box
I am thankful for baseball at the "Box", ie, LSU baseball at Alex Box Stadium. I used to play a little baseball as a kid and some intramural softball in college and some post college and I really enjoyed it. But I wasn't that much a baseball fan until LSU began doing really well nationally and making it to Omaha for the College World Series, sometime in the mid 1980s. Now I love listening to the games on the radio, watching them on TV, and occassionally going to the games. The new Alex Box Stadium is just an amazing place for a college baseball game. It can seat 10,150 fans and it was nearly filled to capacity last Saturday night. LSU has led the nation in attendance for the past 14 years straight according to the LSU Sports web site. LSU has won six national championships to date, from 1991-2009.
There is something about LSU baseball fans that I find really special. They are not as vicious against opponents as they are in football, although they can make it difficult for opposing players. But they appreciate good baseball and, although they want the Tigers to win, they are not hesitant to cheer the visiting team for making good plays or playing a good game, even at LSU's expense. They tailgate before baseball just as they do for football and are happy to share their food with opposing fans or players. When LSU wins a NCAA Regional or Super Regional, they have the team parade around the perimeter inside the stadium receiving and giving high fives from the fans. This "victory lap" is a tradition at LSU. To show how great the fans are, they encouraged to take a victory lap of their own and were accomadated when Stony Brook beat LSU in 2011's Super Regional at the Box to the cheers of LSU fans who appreciated a job well done. Of the experience, Frankie Vanderka, Stony Brook's winning pitcher, said "These fans here...they are some of the best fans around. You would think they might be hasty after we won but every single one of them told us 'go win it all, we're going to be there cheering you on' so I've got to pay my respects to them. They made this time a great experience for us." I find that just amazing and it is what true sportmanship is all about.
I took this photo on Saturday night when LSU was playing Kentucky. It is an HDR photo composed of three exposures and processes in Photoshop and Photomatix. I liked red of the sky at the horizon from the setting sun and the deep blue of the night sky over the stadium. I just happened to get a couple hugging in the forground. I know there are lens flares from the lights on the upper right side of the photo, but I decided they didn't bother me too much. By the way, I had a blast at the game.
baseball at the box
it’s baseball at the box
this place it really rocks
dapper in their sunday gold
nearly every ticket sold
fans get to stompin’ their feet
the tigers put on the heat
victory laps and high fives
to the college world series
where we thrive.
©rt tulley