the basement

It’s pretty amazing what a No. 1 ranking will do for a team.

In the days leading up to the Green Wave’s home opener at Turchin Stadium against Southeast Missouri State, there was a buzz around campus.

The main question around Tulane Friday was, “Are you going to the game tonight?”

Whoa. What’s this stunning development? People actually talking about going to a Tulane sporting event?

Sure enough, the stadium was packed last Friday night. There was actually a line to get tickets. I arrived at the scheduled start time of 6:30 and couldn’t even find a decent seat (definitely a first for any Tulane game I’ve been to).

Granted, it was opening night. That will likely be one of the biggest crowds all year for a baseball game. But maybe it was more than that.

Tulane students are hungry for a winner. Now they finally have a team that not only has a shot but is favored to go to the College World Series in Omaha, possibly to win it.

We’re sick of being the school that’s considered a battering ram for major state schools in the two most prominent college sports, football and basketball.

I mean, it’s sort of fun to watch Louisville wreck us for one half in either sport, because you get to see a top 10 team and realize how great they are, but that gets old.

Tulane students may not care about sports as much as students at Big Ten or ACC schools, but we’ve never had the chance to compare. The culture of losing is so engrained in the psyche of the student body that people don’t bother going to sporting events.

The baseball team has a chance to change all of that this season. In fact, judging by how they looked this weekend against a respectable Southeast Missouri State team, they definitely deserve their high ranking.

This team is absolutely loaded with guys who can mash the ball, and pitchers Brian Bogusevic and Micah Owings should prove to be studs. Those two played major roles in all three wins and figure to do so throughout the season.

Perhaps they can carry Tulane to its first World Series appearance since 2001, and maybe even further than that. 

So, what if they actually end up winning the College World Series this year?

If they actually win it all, it could reverse the losing mentality that everyone has toward Tulane sports. The baseball program has always been strong, but they haven’t gone all the way.

If they do go all the way, they’ll establish a reputation that will draw fans to every game for years to come.

On top of possibly turning the baseball team into one that we can identify with and have pride in, the team is stepping up at the perfect time in the sports year. From the Super Bowl until the major league baseball season begins in April, the entire sports landscape is bleak.

Particularly at a school such as Tulane where the basketball team has no shot at making the NCAA tournament.

So this is the perfect time for the Green Wave baseball team to steal the spotlight at Tulane and help fill the post-Super Bowl sports void until opening day of Major League Baseball. Judging by what they’ve shown already, they’re certainly entertaining enough to draw my attention.  

In fact, the Green Wave has everyone’s attention right now. Let’s see what they do with it.

Ben Eisenberg is a Tulane College sophomore. At baseball games he can be seen wearing his green and blue body paint on the foul lines at games supporting the Green Wave. He can be reached at beisenbe@tulane.edu.