Ole Miss Baseball: No Nebraska In Spite Of All Those Signs

The way the season ended just didn’t seem right even though all the signs weren’t coming just from the Ole Miss baseball season.

There is still something about the way this season ended that didn’t seem right. Even after a couple of weeks of reflection. My personal story adds a surreal element to it. You see, I was receiving these strange signals about going to Omaha. Seriously, I’m not normally superstitious but there were just too many things going on. Little things like channel surfing on satellite radio and seeing “Nebraska” on the Bruce Springsteen channel. This just seemed like it was happening too often to be a coincidence.

And then the week before the Regional there was the guy who asked for directions at an exit off I-16 in Georgia on the way to Hilton Head Island. We were traveling with two small children and exit 98 is a good stop. It is a little over half way for us so it is a good place to let the kids take a break. Believe it or not there is this little gas station that also calls itself a pet stop. There are cows and goats and even camels.

All Signs Point to Nebraska

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So, we stopped for gas and to take a break. While there, I’m not kidding this guy walked up and asked about directions. I’m thinking he is going to ask about Vidalia or Metter. Or maybe it is further away like Macon or Savannah. No, he says I’m trying to get to…..Nebraska, is this the way as he points east toward Savannah? I am not kidding.

Nebraska is just over 1000 miles to the northwest from where we were standing. I couldn’t even come up with a decent answer. My wife chimed in that it might be a good idea to get a map. Pretty bizarre I would say. But it did happen.

Later my wife joked that he might be going to collect on one of those contests that you receive what looks like a notice that you have won the sweepstakes. Of course, it is really a way of getting you to buy magazine subscriptions that you don’t want or need.

This, was a reference to a movie titled….you guessed it Nebraska. In the movie a character played by Bruce Dern is determined to get from Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska so he can collect his prize. He is determined to do this even though he can’t drive and his family is all trying to talk him out of it. Still, it is all about Nebraska. Who knew?

The Signs Didn’t Stop There

Then, when we get to Hilton Head I notice a car parked across the parking lot from us that has a Nebraska license plate. Another coincidence? I guess. The next day there are two cars with Nebraska plates side by side. Still, there were signs. And then a third Nebraska car. There may never have been 3 cars with Nebraska license plates side by side in Hilton Head. This couldn’t be a coincidence could it?

The signs were all there. More Springsteen Nebraska on the radio. References the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, on the news. The signs were all there. It had to mean something. Surely the Rebels were headed to Omaha. And there is this Netflix series on TV about a guy who is traveling around the world on the kindness of strangers. I have read his book so I’m somewhat interested. In the second episode he finds himself in…..you guessed it….Nebraska. There are just too many signs for this to be a coincidence, right?

Then The Rain-out

Then the weekend starts with the rain out. No big deal. We are at home. And things go well in the first two games. Then we lose on Sunday. Still, it seemed to be ok. We have two chances with more pitching available than Tennessee Tech should have. We should be okay. The 3 cars from Nebraska is back down to 2 cars now. Some additional in-laws have arrived and we have a big cookout planned with the baseball relegated to the background.

And things start to slowly go in the other direction. For some reason the bats are not producing. And if all goes wrong. There is Tennessee Tech celebrating on Swayze Field. What were all of those signs about? Maybe the premonitions had something to do with strange pattern were cut into some Nebraska cornfield? Remember those patterns that people claimed could not be explained? Or, maybe it was nothing! Or maybe it was a premature sign for next year?

OK, Maybe the Signs Had Nothing to do with Baseball

Maybe it just didn’t have anything to do with baseball. Baseball is just unpredictable sometimes. For an entire season those things work out. You lose a series that was expected to be a win and then sweep a tough team. An umpire has an expanded strike zone that confounds hitters on both sides and makes average pitchers look great for a day. And then, it is just hard to figure out how the outcome will be affected.

Anyway, even with the disappointment of having the season end earlier than expected, there are definitely things to celebrate with this team. Would we exchange winning the SEC tournament for that early loss in the Regional? We don’t have a choice so let’s take the SEC tournament championship and celebrate it. Also, winning the SEC West. Again something to celebrate regardless of anything else that happens. Ole Miss baseball winning 48 games? Having a first round draft pick. Not losing a regular season series in Oxford?

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These are all reasons to celebrate. In addition, there is a lot of talent that will be returning. Yes, there will be some voids to fill but there seem to be some players ready to step up. And there will be new additions. There is definitely reason for optimism for next year. So, there is always that.

Oh well, for now, I definitely hope someone will let me know if they hear about some strange phenomenon in a Nebraska cornfield.