The program's first national championship was won by the Rebels after they overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Oklahoma 4-2. 3:20
Can you tell me how it feels to win a national championship?
It feels like you've never been to a baseball game before and you're so overwhelmed you can't even stand up.
Ed Thompson drove through the night Saturday to be in Omaha for the second game of the Men's College World Series finals, which they won 4-2 over Oklahoma. I stood up off the couch and drove after seeing them win the first game. He said that he paid a lot but it was worth it.
Since the school's first football team in 1893, how has it felt to win a men's national title?
It feels like leaning over the left-field railing, waving a $100 bill at the grounds crew, or anyone else who might be interested in earning a Benjamin for filling their empty stadium cup with some red warning-track dirt.
Lynn and Terry Becker used their vacation days to come to Omaha. Terry wants to put some in a jar. She wants to put it in her garden.
How does it feel to see your team go from being the best team in the country to falling out of the rankings and having the fans and media calling for the head coach's job?
It feels like standing on your seat and holding your baby, knowing she won't remember it, but knowing that you can tell her later that she saw what generations of Ole Miss fans never had before. The chants of that coach's name were belted out by a crowd of over 25 thousand. "Mike Bi-An-CO!" clap-clap!
It was like that for the Lincoln family. Jack joined in the cheer and admitted that he wanted his son to be fired as well.
It feels like a 40-something-year-old man jumping into the air and trying to catch confetti as a wind gusts send it into the bleachers. It feels like you're taking selfies with your grandpa while he talks about Archie Manning. The NCAA's official souvenir stands have "Ole Miss NCAA Men's College World Series" championship T-shirts just pulled from boxes.
It makes me happy. It feels better than expected, that's for sure.
Dylan DeLucia was named the Most Outstanding Player of the series even though he didn't pitch in the finals. No one expected us to do this. It was still out there even after we won the game. This is even better because of that. This group is so special because of that.
"You had 20,000-plus fans show up here, because this is a special group," Bianco said. They were aware that this was a special group. It was a national title. I think that's true. The stadium holds 25,000 people and it looked like it was still full. People have fallen in love with a group of young men. They all showed up here because of that.
I have a feeling that none of these folks will be leaving the ballpark anytime soon. #hottytoddy #MCWS pic.twitter.com/sHIygdJu9D
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) June 26, 2022
They showed up in waves for a while. The first group of people came to Omaha at the start of the MCWS. The second legion rolled north as Ole Miss made it to the semifinals. The third-stagers arrived on the shores of the Missouri River over the weekend and were desperate to be a part of it all.
The supporters of Egg Bowl archrivals Mississippi State took over Omaha. They had to take a back seat to the bulldogs for a long time. Some of them lined up by the plaque on the outside of the ballpark took selfies with their middle fingers up.
Many of the people who came to Nebraska were aware that they wouldn't be able to get a ticket. They didn't pay much attention. As Game 2 moved into the middle of a tense one-run affair, Ole Miss fans sat on benches outside the right-field main gate and packed the bars surrounding the ballpark, only a few hundred yards away.
Baseball fans in the pre-TV era used to stand in Times Square and cheer when someone would update a World Series score from the Bronx and Brooklyn. There was a Times Square-ish mascot, someone dressed in a long-ago-retired Colonel Reb, wearing Under Armour sleeves under his Ole Miss jersey, and taking selfies.
The spot that became a defacto Oxford North during the Series was the most popular in-game hangout. The sports bar/pizza joint has kept a tongue-in-cheek Jell-O Shot Challenge, but this one keeping track of how many alcohol-packed sips were purchased by the fans of the eight teams in each June's College World Series field. The average score has always been a few hundred. There is a number that could approach 1000.
The Ole Miss fans threw down 16,174 shots during the second game of the series. The previous record was set by the rivals of the Egg Bowl. 2,955
Welp, we are out of jello, but we are still rolling! Old School Ole Miss Shots still count towards the total! Let's push it to 20k! #CWS2022 #CWSS #RoccosOmaha pic.twitter.com/bHCAWXqeTZ
— CWS Jello Shot Challenge (@CWSShotBoard) June 26, 2022
"I think I can speak for everyone here, every business around this ballpark, when I say that we've never seen anything like what we have seen from the teams this week, but especially Ole Miss fans," said Kevin Culjat.
The fans were determined to make that night last as long as possible as the sun began to set over Omaha and the sky began to turn blue.
Gloria Poplin, a self-proclaimed "Hotty Toddy Grandma" with a piece of shiny red confetti stuck in her gray hair, said she had never had a Jell-O shot. I'm going to check if they have any left. I'm not going to sleep until wednesday.
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