Wednesday, 05/30/07
Stormin' South
I don't want to use the word disappointed, but I have to say I am a little suprised. No one, not even my mother, acknowledged the fact that today is the two-month anniversary of Going Yard. That's right, it was on March 30 that Evan and I watched North Carolina and Wake Forest battle in Chapel Hill to kick off our voyage.
What better way to celebrate an anniversary than with an eight-hour drive, right? I shouldn't really complain, however, because our destination was Myrtle Beach. Not only that, we arrived to find out that our hotel was right on the beach. I guess the fact that the address was "2404 Ocean Blvd." should have tipped us off.
Don't hate us because that is view from the balcony of our hotel room.
After two days at the Division II World Series in Montgomery, Ala., we had to get to the beach for this weekend's regional being hosted by Coastal Carolina. We also had to make sure we had to beat St. John's there, because we were scheduled to greet the Red Storm at their hotel. The first thing that we noticed when they got off the bus is that they travel in suits and ties. It's the first time we have seen that this trip, and they were definitely looking dapper.
When looking at the teams scheduled to play in the Myrtle Beach regional, it becomes any easy game of, "One of these things is not like the other." Coastal Carolina, Clemson and Viriginia Commonwealth are all south of the good ol' Mason-Dixon line, with two of the schools residing in the Palmetto State. St. John's, however, was flying in from the borough Queens, the home of the Mets, The Ramones, and A Tribe Called Quest.
It's seems like an obvious fish out of water tale, but it is not so cut and dried. Most of the Johnnies are New Yorkers, but it's not like they are completely unfamiliar with the south. For starters, designated hitter Ryan Mahoney spent the first two years of his college career at the University of South Carolina. Not only that, but Mahoney's brother played collegiately at Clemson, so he is well versed in South Carolina rivalry protocol. The Red Storm also have second baseman Sam DeLuca, whose father Sam played football for the Gamecocks and then for the New York Jets.
The gentleman in the front is risking a dress-code violation.
The fact that the Red Storm even made it here is pretty impressive, when you consider they began the season 0-7. They ignited their season with a victory at Rice on March 6, and they are 39-10 since. Having beaten Rice, it's clear that St. John's will not be intimidated during their showdown with Clemson on Friday. Even though Coastal Carolina is the host of the regional, it would be shocking if Friday's crowd is not a sea of Orange. In a sense, it's almost as if they are being forced to play in a regional with two hosts.
That being said, they didn't really seem to care. The consensus among players we spoke to was that they were excited to go to Myrtle Beach. As far as they were concerned, it was preferable to pretty much every other regional site. We agree with that sentiment.
