June 12, 2011
The bucket list just got shorter. Mine, yours and some guy’s named Corbin.
And while we check off “Omaha,” we can also take that ridiculous monkey off our back. Wow, so much lighter! Feels like we can float like a butterfly and we can sure sting like a bee.
Just ask the Oregon State Beavers, who can relate to the old codger who backed into a buzz saw and was asked which blade slit him first. Actually, they might claim it was Aaron Westlake, wishing they had walked him three times as they did Friday night instead of allowing him to become the first Commodore in two decades to crush three home runs in a game.
Corbin doesn’t miss a trick and admitted afterwards that this team – “not a great team but rather a legacy team” in his words – actually rehearsed victory since last August 25th right down to the dog pile we saw on the first base line.
We live in a cynical world. Identify yourself with a cause and you can find a chorus of doubters within seconds, especially with an internet connection. Most of us find a bunker and keep our heads safely down. We are not willing to invest too much to get what we want. We prefer to follow those who appear fearless.
Tim Corbin is such a leader, although if the truth were known he is not fearless. But he is so danged passionate about baseball that he doesn’t really care if it seemed audacious to splatter the word “Omaha” around his program the past nine years. He was too obsessed with his goal to worry if tin men thought he was naïve.
Corbin believes in visualization; “if you can’t imagine it first you can’t make it happen.” Let’s look at what his vision created.
When permanent bleachers were in the planning process, Corbin enthusiastically talked about capacity crowds and how they would stimulate his outfielders. Really?
Well, it has already become a tradition for our outfield fans to be the “black” in the “Black-Gold” cheer. There were large “No Game Day Tickets on Sale” signs plastered around the park by mid-afternoon Saturday. The right field gang joined in the team’s between-inning warm-up drills tonight from its seats.
When he was interviewing here back in 2003, he talked about wanting to be at a place where winning mattered, where student-athletes were appreciated, where the objective was excellence.
Walking around Hawkins Field during pre-game, one sees kids of all ages decked out in their Vandy best. And even if we haven’t quite gotten everyone wearing our colors yet, there is a bounce in the step of today’s Commodore fan. It is a rush to wear that Star V logo. There is profound pride in identifying with the Vanderbilt program.
The vision was not Tim’s alone. There were some early believers, perhaps the most special of which was Charlie Hawkins. Somebody said the other day it is a shame Mr. Hawkins wasn’t able to see all the success happen.
Ah, but he did! He didn’t miss a thing, visualizing success on a big-time scale long before the fragile dared realize the most fashionable clothing a prep superstar would one day covet is a Vanderbilt baseball cap and jersey.
We can now safely say the “O” word without fear of someone slapping us. Omaha. Shout it out loud – Omaha! O-M-A-H-A. It’s the most exotic city in our world today. Get out the road map or if by now you are really feeling brave, try booking a flight there on Southwest Airlines from Nashville right now. We should have bought stock weeks ago.
We are a picture of happiness. We all can visualize that.
