The Road to Omaha

"The Road to Omaha" provides a wonderful overview of, and insight into, the baseball College World Series: the players and coaches, the City of Omaha, and the unique ambience of the CWS, which, regrettably, will be moved from the 'Blatt to a new venue in 2011. It was especially interesting for me, as the 2008 CWS, which is the primary subject of the book, is the only Series I have missed in the last six. After 30 years of unfulfilled desire to attend the CWS, I attended my first in 2004. I won't miss another by choice. Reserved seats are extremely hard to obtain ---unless you are willing to pay exhorbitant mark-ups (and you can always stand in long lines for the bleacher seats) --- but the experience is priceless. Attending an Omaha CWS should be on the "bucket list" of every serious baseball fan, and the book successfully captures the essence and special flavor of Omaha and the dedication of its civic leaders and residents to showcasing and maintaining this exceptional tournament, notwithstanding the overbearing attitude of the NCAA, which has shaken down the City of Omaha at every opportunity with threats to move the CWS elsewhere unless Omaha capitulated to its demands. For baseball fans, and especially college baseball fans, this book is the next best thing to being there, as they say. Highly recommended!

This is a wonderful read that truly captures the flavor of Omaha and the College World Series. The up close narrative of the incredible underdog run of the 2008 Fresno State team is just the icing on the cake in this book. McGee chronicles the history of the CWS in Omaha, as well as the history of the city as well. From the behind-the-scenes heroes who make this unique event tick, to some of the major baseball protagonists who have etched their names in Rosenblatt Stadium history, Road to Omaha covers them all with a style that draws you in and makes you feel like you're living the magic yourself. This book is definitely worth your time!

Early in "The Road to Omaha," McGee introduces readers to the long-standing tradition of Omaha civic organizations acting as "hosts" for teams participating in the College World Series -- indivudals who as he puts it, "Once the Series began, anything a team desired -- Gatorade, donuts, dinner reservations, Band-Aids, whatever -- they only had to ask their designated hosts and it would materialize." Reading through this wonderful collection of stories, McGee serves as the readers "host." Once the book began, anything the reader desired -- familiar names, road trip ramblings, superstars, underdogs, local color, whatever -- they only had to ask and it would materialize. What a fun read for any fan of baseball at any level, but a true treasure for anyone who at least partially defines their life by their exeperiences in and around the sport. My 11-year-old loves baseball of any kind, whether we cheer the local minor league teams, catch a college game or, on the rare occasion, step into a Major League stadium. And while we will never get to experience the wooden-framed ballpark known as Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, "The Road to Omaha" gives us a wonderful glimpse. Thanks Ryan for the heart you put into this effort.

I have never been to the College World Series and likely never will. I also normally do not have a true rooting interest in any of the teams. However, I do enjoy watching the games on television and I have always thought that Rosenblatt Stadium must be an extremely interesting place to watch a ballgame. Now Mr. McGee's book makes me feel that I really do know something about the place. The book gives the reader an excellent feel for the eight teams that participated in 2008. We become familiar with many of the current players, plus we learn about the history of the teams that have a tradition of going to the CWS. The book is not a play-by-play account of the games from 2008, but it does cover the main events during the games. More importantly, it gives the reader some interesting insight into the managerial decisions that were made and a good look at the emotions of the players, win or lose. The baseball in the book is good. However, I found the background information about Omaha, the World Series, the field, the activities of the citizens living near Rosenblatt, and the good spirits of the fans coming in from out of town to support their teams to be of particular interest. Where else can you learn of a street side game where you toss hot dogs into the road, put money into a hat, and then pass the hat to the other people playing with you so they can put their money in. Whoever is holding the hat when a car runs over one of the hot dogs wins the money. Then you do it all over again. What a great way to pass the time waiting for the start of the next ball game. The back is packed with tidbits of that nature that I found extremely interesting and great fun to read. If you are a baseball fan and particularly a fan of the College World Series, you need to read The Road to Omaha.

The Road to Omaha took me to the CWS for the first time. I felt like I was there taking in the local charm as well as the greatest upset in CWS history. Although a North Carolinian, I was pulling for Fresno State the whole time. A wonderful book written by a fellow NC author.