Champions!

It has happened again.

I've waited a full nine years for it to happen, and it finally has.

It is with great pleasure that I can say that the LSU Tigers are once again the college baseball World Champions.

As soon as I saw Louis Coleman throw out the first pitch on the opening night in the new Alex Box Stadium way back on February 20, I knew that this team had something special in them. Something struck in my subconscious when Blake Dean hit the first home run in that new stadium. I had a feeling that this group of Tigers had what it takes to be Number One.

And I knew it wouldn't be easy. There were plenty of moments that were not too pleasant for me as a Tiger fan. Remember the ULL game? The Tennessee series? The Vandy game in the opening round of the SEC Tournament?

But I knew. I knew that this team had it in them, had the desire to go all the way, had the heart to play their hardest. And it got them the ultimate prize: a National Championship.

Before tonight's game, I listened to some great words by the coach of this (to paraphrase another LSU National Championship coach) damn strong baseball team, Paul Mainieri. He stated that all he asked was that the team play their best. If they did that, he said, no one would ever have any regrets.

Those words struck me. And during the bottom of the 9th tonight, as I watched Louis Coleman throw out the final pitch, just as he had thrown out the first pitch more than four months before, I realized how truly lucky we were.

There are 64 different teams that make it to the NCAA Tournament. Of those 64 teams, 63 of them will have their season end with a loss. We were the one team that kept on winning, that refused to lose, that ended the season on the highest high imaginable.

It also made me realize how lucky I was to be a Tiger. In the three major sports (football, basketball, and baseball), LSU has a combined nine national championships: three in football, six in baseball. Only one of these titles - 1958 Football - happened before I was born. I was able to witness eight different Tiger teams win national championships.

But here's the more incredible fact: LSU has only played for a national championship in these sports nine times. The Tigers are completely undefeated when the big one is on the line. I have never had to experience the thrill of making it to a title game, followed by the agony of seeing it vanish before my eyes. I cannot imagine how that would feel, and hopefully I never will. And, according to history, I won't ever have to worry about that.

All I can think of right now is just how proud and thankful I am to be an LSU Tiger. There are not many schools who can say they've won six national championships in one sport in less than 20 years, and I'm very fortunate to be attending one of them. To paraphrase Colby Donaldson, when I wake up in the morning there are two things I'm thankful for: I'm thankful I'm alive, and I'm thankful I'm a Tiger.

There are really only two ways to close this blog, and I can't decide which one to use, so I've decided to use both. These closing quotes are familiar to Tiger fans worldwide, and perfectly convey the spirit of tonight:

"Give it all your might as you fight tonight, and keep the goal in view: victory for LSU!"

"May thy spirit live in us ... forever LSU!"

It's a great night to be a Tiger fan. Geaux out and celebrate this accomplishment.

GEAUX TIGERS!

PS - Only 73 days until kickoff in Seattle....