It’s another SECWS — and that’s good for Omaha and college baseball

Well, it’s another SECWS. Got a problem with that?

For the third time in six years, two Southeastern Conference schools — LSU and Florida — will play for the College World Series championship.

It’s the fifth time that’s happened in the CWS final, including LSU-Alabama in 1997 (Nick Saban Trophy) and South Carolina-Florida (Steve Spurrier Cup) in 2011.

For the eighth time in the last 15 years (2009), the SEC will own the national title.

Since LSU’s last title in 2009, an SEC team has played in the championship every year except 2016, when Coastal Carolina and Arizona were given permission to play.

And now here we go again, with Omaha’s bars and restaurants and hotels packed with friendly, energetic, hungry and thirsty SEC fans.

It’s terrible, isn’t it?

I know some local fans are tired of the SEC taking over the CWS like some college football road trip. The SEC can’t help it if it has the most talent, facilities, money and fans.

Can’t they please give USC a chance?

Sorry, that’s not in their nature. If there’s anything SEC fans like more than a good time, it’s winning championships.

You don’t have to like the SEC treating the College World Series like their conference tournament. But you do have to face some facts.

The SEC is good for college baseball.

The SEC is good for the College World Series.

And that means it’s very good for Omaha.

Why? It starts with passion.

College baseball just means more in the SEC. And that passion — along with hundreds of millions of football TV dollars — is why the rest of college baseball will never catch up.

That passion has also transformed the CWS downtown.

Would the CWS attract visitors if UCLA, Texas, Wake Forest or Michigan came to town? Yes. But not like the SEC. Not even close.

The College World Series is always better when LSU and Tiger fans are in our burg. They transform the town and the stadium. They say Barrett’s is the LSU bar.

Every bar is the LSU bar.

But the Bayou Bengals haven’t been here much since 2009. This is their second championship appearance in 15 years.

Meanwhile, the CWS downtown has had transformational atmospheres the last two seasons, thanks to Mississippi State and Ole Miss fans.

Stark Vegas fans turned the event upside down in 2021. Last year, the Hotty Toddies turned up the volume and the beer sales.

They said the downtown ballpark would never have any atmosphere, never have any charm or any fun.

But long-time local CWS fans I know say they don’t remember anything so passionate. You could feel the new park shake.

LSU at Rosenblatt was the old standard, but Charles Schwab Field has been busy getting its own personality, its own tradition and memories.

Without SEC fans, there would be some leftover Jell-O at Rocco’s. SEC fans are why you come up with that promotion.

Yes, there’s that whistler from Vandy. The SEC isn’t perfect.

But it’s terrific for Omaha merchants. It’s good for TV ratings. And the image of the CWS.

Omahans do the heavy lifting of showing up all week, but the SEC fans — especially those who come in the final weekend — bring an infusion of energy that make the event like Mardi Gras with bleachers.

Great, you say. But let’s spread the wealth, share the love with other teams.

But don’t change the rules to knock down the SEC. I’m with Kyle Peterson on this: don’t penalize the SEC for caring a lot about college baseball.

Everyone else: care more. You see that happening. More money is going into college baseball facilities and coaching salaries around the country.

Expand the NCAA regionals so that more northern and western teams can host. Increase scholarships.

And yes, push the season back back so that it starts in April, if you must.

But if the season began on April 1 so that most of the games were played in better weather, would the Big Ten care more about baseball?

It’s questionable. The Big Ten isn’t wired that way. Push the season back, and the SEC is still the SEC.

Meanwhile, the rest of the bigger conferences may be changing. The Pac-12 looks unstable. The Big 12 and ACC could change make-ups and priorities in the immediate future.

Whatever happens, neither the Big 12 or ACC can match the money or passion the SEC has for college ball.

How much does that matter? Is SEC passion the reason LSU outlasted Wake Forest on Thursday night? No. In an epic game between national title contenders, the Tigers made one more swing, one more play.

It’s still a game about players and execution. But the SEC gives itself more chances to make those plays, and win those championships.

Where did the SEC’s insatiable appetite for college baseball and Omaha come from?

The SEC wasn’t around much in the 1960s, ’70s or ’80s. Ron Polk’s Mississippi State teams were regular visitors back then, but didn’t win until 2021.

The first SEC team to win a national title was Georgia in 1990. Skip Bertman’s LSU won its first CWS crown the next year.

Florida and LSU are blue bloods. But that’s on a 30-year calendar. LSU’s first trip to Omaha came in 1986. Florida’s first CWS came in 1988.

Give Bertman a ton of credit. His LSU teams won five titles between 1991 and 2000, did it with flair and power and fun. The CWS looked different with LSU winning.

And it looked like something the rest of the SEC wanted in on.

Kentucky spent $50 million on a baseball stadium despite having never been to Omaha. Tennessee is looking to put in an additional $39 million into its ballpark upgrades.

I loved a theory from Ryan McGee, the ESPN analyst and writer and CWS/Omaha fan.

“The first time I came here was Nebraska’s first time here (2001),” McGee said. “Nebraska fans showed up even though they couldn’t get in. They showed up to tailgate and party. They had all their stuff from the fall. It was an excuse to pull it out in June.

“That’s what happens in the SEC. In Hoover (Alabama, SEC tourney) they sold out the RV spots a year in advance. It’s because they get to do the football thing in May. It’s an extension.

“All they do is sit around all year and say I wish there were more football games. All right, so let’s do it for baseball.”

Embracing the College World Series because it reminds them of football season?

Now there’s something Nebraskans can get on board with.