Alex Box Stadium created a bit of an illusion Thursday afternoon.Thousands of people gathered for a special celebration in the new stadium not even a full day after game three of the College World Series final.
The ceremony put the crowd on its feet with a replay of the game on the high-definition scoreboard. Fans cheered for each big play and the last out of the contest, even when they already knew the ending.
It was almost like the fans were still at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha for the final game. But the difference between the Box on Thursday and the Blatt on Wednesday?
This time it was all purple and gold in the stands.
LSU fans gathered in the Alex Box grandstand on a hot Thursday afternoon for the LSU baseball team’s 2009 national championship celebration, many of them already dressed in national championship gear.
Gates opened at 2 p.m., but fans really started piling in the stadium at about 3:30 p.m. for the ceremony.
Team spokesman Bill Franques introduced the team with each player walking out individually to an ovation from the crowd. The players were adorned in white national championship shirts and Mardi Gras beads, walking up to a raised stage assembled in a few hours.
Senior Louis Coleman, the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year, was the last player introduced. He drew the loudest ovation while waving an LSU national championship flag and later spoke to the crowd about the season.
“It’s already been said, but y’all are the greatest fans in the country,” Coleman told the crowd. “It’s unbelievable.”
A video montage of highlights from the College World Series was shown on the scoreboard, showing scenes from LSU’s first game against to Virginia to the championship series against Texas and the ensuing celebration.
One player from each class spoke to the crowd, with each of them thanking the fans for their support during the season.
Center fielder Mikie Mahtook, the SEC tournament Most Valuable Player, represented the freshman class, while pitcher Anthony Ranaudo spoke for the sophomores. Ranaudo was the Baton Rouge Regional Most Outstanding Player and picked up the win Wednesday in the final.
Right fielder Jared Mitchell, the CWS Most Outstanding Player, gave a speech on behalf of the junior class. Coleman rounded out the player-speakers when he spoke for the seniors.
“A national championship, huh? Eh, it’s something,” Mitchell, who also has a 2007 BCS national championship ring as a football player, said jokingly. “But seriously, this is a time in my life I’ll never forget.”
Following all of the player speeches was coach Paul Mainieri, who walked onto the field with the national championship trophy held high above his head.
Mainieri let out a huge scream at the podium and yelled to the crowd ‘Who’s No. 1!’ at the top of his lungs.
“I can vividly remember the first team meeting in August, the first day of school, that we talked about winning the national championship,” Mainieri said. “We believed it. But it was a long ways away. And we knew that we were gonna have a lot of challenges if we wanted to get to Omaha.”
The gold national championship flag was raised after Mainieri’s speech. With the six national titles, LSU now has two championship flags for each school color — white, purple and gold.
The new flag replaced an Alex Box Stadium flag that was hanging up on a pole in right-center field.
Mainieri had an early vision for the flag poles when the new stadium was being built. The old stadium had five poles, with the American flag sharing a pole with one of the national championship flags.
The third-year coach from Notre Dame wanted the American flag to stand by itself. But he didn’t want the total number of poles to stop at six.
“They said, ‘OK, we’ll put up six poles.’ And I said ‘No, we want seven poles,'” Mainieri said. “I said, ‘You’ve got the American flag, you’ve got five national championships and we want a flag pole for the next national championship!'”
While the 2009 CWS just ended and fans are still celebrating, some of the players are already thinking ahead.
“They’ve got some big shoes to fill,” Coleman said of the returning players. “They’re going to go get another one next year.”To watch a video of the celebration, click here.—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]