Landed In Omaha!

Kyle Curtis' wonderful adventure at the College World Series.

OMAHA, NEB. -- Deciding to come to Omaha was never an "if" question for me; it was more of a "when" question. When Florida centerfielder Michael Robertson made a flying catch to send the Gators to the championship, I knew I had to get to go.

Jello Shots! - (Left) Cade Beal (center) Kyle Curtis (Right) Patrick Curtis

Leading up to Omaha, my dad entertained and teased me with the idea, saying things like "if they make it, we can go" or dropping hints about a potential trip. Since I had already been approved for media credentials, the only obstacle was finding a way to get there and securing a place to stay.

On Thursday morning, I woke up to my dad shouting my name across the house. His friends from his time at Florida had been persistently urging him to make the trip to Omaha.

Their convincing made it easier for me to get my dad to come around.

After purchasing the plane tickets, we had barely enough time to pack before hitting the road. The best available flight was out of Atlanta, so my father and I embarked on a six-hour journey to Atlanta and then flew into Chicago early Friday morning. From there, we proceeded to Omaha around noon.

Upon arriving at the hotel in Atlanta, we were treated to what might have been the greatest College World Series game I had ever seen. LSU and Wake Forest delivered an exhilarating match with two of the country's top pitchers showcasing their skills.

In a perfect scenario for Florida, Paul Skenes, LSU's star pitcher and the SEC single-season strikeout record holder, threw well over 100 pitches, putting him in a disadvantageous position to start against Florida. Skenes, who had been the most dominant pitcher in college baseball, pitched eight scoreless innings against one of the country's top offenses, Wake Forest.

Rhett Lowder, Wake Forest's pitcher, had an 18-0 record leading up to Thursday night's matchup, setting the stage for one of the most highly anticipated pitching duels in College World Series history. Lowder also pitched nearly eight scoreless innings on just 88 pitches.

Both sides lived up to the hype.

The game extended to 11 innings, forcing both teams to rely on their bullpen despite the outstanding performances by their starting pitchers.

Now, Florida will enter Saturday's game one fully rested, with all the Gator pitchers available for the winner-take-all series. With all this information swirling in my mind, falling asleep was impossible, reminiscent of the anticipation I felt as a child on Christmas Eve.

While at the airport, I was greeted by many Gator fans who offered encouraging words, as well as LSU fans. The Tigers have historically traveled well as a fanbase and showed no difference this year for the College World Series.

Before boarding our aircraft in Chicago, we ran into Eric Fabian, who was the centerpiece of last week's Father's Day Special. Mr. Fabian is the father of current player Deric Fabian and former standout Jud Fabian. While catching up and discussing the whirlwind of their travels over the past week and a half, Mr. Fabian shared some exciting words about Omaha.

"25,000 people watching baseball," Fabian said. "There is truly nowhere like Omaha. It's one of the coolest places ever for a baseball fan."

Looking at a majority of LSU fans in the airport, we asked what he thought the crowd would be like over the upcoming weekend.

"15-1," Fabian said. "When we were here last week for the first round, LSU fans were the strongest fanbase here. I don't expect that to change."

The Rocco's Jello shot competition supports that theory, with LSU having a whopping 29,000 shots ordered compared to Florida's 2,900. By the end of the weekend, I aim to contribute one or two shots to that count.

After finally arriving in Omaha, Charles Schwab Field was the first thing I spotted while peering out of the airplane window. The history and significance it holds in the baseball world is something that can't be described until experienced in person.

Once we checked into the hotel, we planned to meet up with fellow Gator friends and family and spend Friday night exploring the city of Omaha.

Stay tuned for updates on my adventure in Wonderful Adventure In Omaha.