After a week and a half spent in western Colorado, with a brief hiatus to travel back to Missouri and make an appearance at my mother’s surprise 50th birthday party, and a two-day ride home on the baseball team’s bus, a JUCO 2013 postmortem is in order.
First, I have to thank Joan and George Cameron for lending their wifi, shower and spare bedroom to me all week; the Cochise’s baseball team for letting me tag along on all their World Series adventures; and my own family for understanding why I had to ditch time in St. Louis with them to make it back to Colorado in time for Friday night’s semifinal game. Once you’re invested in something, it’s important to see it through.
Here’s all the little stuff you missed if you didn’t go to JUCO this year.
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Grand Junction puts on a good show. Great stadium, reasonable prices and true community support.
The “Tower at Lincoln Park,” built in 2011 and unveiled just prior to JUCO 2012.
I didn’t see Suplizio Field before “The Tower” was built in 2011, but last week, that tower made me remember what it’s like to be at a “big-time” sports venue. It literally towers over the first-base side of the field, containing a hospitality suite on the top floor and press box below it that still feels like new. The place buzzed with radio, TV and print media, as well as the statistics people, official scorer and game announcers.
Along with the big-time feel came small-town perks. Free event parking! And they let you bring your own food and water into the game! A small cooler, even. Stadium officials were checking bags to make sure no one carried in weapons or alcohol, but rarely, if ever, do I go to a game in an actual stadium, with things like gates and tickets, and see fans allowed to bring in their own food and water. That kind of accessibility made sure the seats were filled every day.
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Make friends with the people of Section L.
The top row of Section L spells “JUCO” while everyone else does the “YMCA.”
One of my very best friends from college is from Grand Junction, and her family goes to JUCO every year. They and a group of friends each buy a tournament pass of reserved seats at the top of Section L, and they don’t miss a game all week. They pick teams to cheer for based on uniform colors or the colleges with the most interesting names. I watched these people sit through baking in the sun, freezing in the evening, nearly getting blown away by wind. They just love JUCO.
Jerry brings an air horn to the top row of Section L.
They don’t particularly care which teams win the games, but Section L makes JUCO about having a darn good time while watching baseball all day. At each night game, everyone chooses an outfield billboard and hands over a dollar to the person who picks the one hit first by a fly ball. If you, a fan, purchase a funnel cake from under the bleachers and make the long walk up the steps carrying your funnel cake to your seat, you will be mocked. JUCO Rick will lead the rest of Section L in standing, pointing and screaming “funnel cake!” repeatedly. By the end of the tournament, people in surrounding sections have caught on to all their games and quirks and can’t help but join in.
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Third place has to be the most bittersweet finish in the Junior College World Series.
Yes, the fact that the Cochise baseball team can call itself third in the nation is an incredible achievement. However, to be one of the last three teams at the end of the bracket, get that close to the championship game and not experience it was tough to watch.
I had the privilege of hanging out with the team at practices, pre-tournament activities, during downtime and in the dugout at games. I’m pretty good at staying detached from teams and athletes I write about (I am particularly adamant about not using the term “we” to describe a team, because I am not on the roster), but I really wanted our guys to win. The rest of their postseason play leading up to the World Series was evidence that, even after a loss in game one, they probably could, having been in win-or-go-home situations in every series in regionals and at the end of the district tournament. They made it to the World Series … by the skin of their teeth.
“We’re a team that just fights and fights; we get down, get back up, we get beat up, do everything the hardest way we can,” said sophomore infielder Stephan Desgagne. “It came out positive all season: we made it to the World Series and we took third.”