Check out all of WBR’s 2014 College World Series coverage.
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I’ve lived in Omaha my entire life. This is something I’m proud of, a badge of honor I wear usually by acting like I know everything about the city.
I don’t, of course. But I know enough to impart some wisdom to those spending the next few weeks in Omaha during the city’s biggest event of the year.
I work all day. If I didn’t, if I managed to take an extended vacation during the most hustlin’, bustlin’ time of the year in Omaha, here’s what I’d do. Every. Single. Day.
BUT FIRST, a few notes about the following narrative.
1) I’m not going to pretend like I was able to snag one of the hotels right across the street from TD Ameritrade Park. Therefore, my plans include a car. Which is good, because Omaha’s not exactly San Francisco when it comes to public transit options.
2) Conservative estimates indicate that the College World Series brings Omaha an economic boost of between $40 and $50 million each year. Let’s not break the bank, but let’s enjoy ourselves a little bit and add to the multi-million boom the CWS provides to Omaha.
Saturday, June 14
- CWS game 1 (2 p.m. CT)
- CWS game 2 (6 p.m. CT)
Start your day with breakfast at Louis M’s Burger Lust.
OK, drive south like you’re headed to – that’s right – Rosenblatt Stadium. But before you crest the hill on 13th Street and freak out because you can’t see the relic anymore, head a few blocks north to a great breakfast at this South Omaha staple. You’ll get a good base before a long day of baseball and beer. It starts with a Bloody Mary, of course.
Head north on 13th Street and get to “NoDo” early for a choice parking spot and plenty of people-watching.
You’ll drive past the Old Market, which you’ll see plenty of during your time in Omaha. But the opening day of the College World Series is an energized one, with eager fans of all eight teams surrounded by hospitable and fun-hungry locals. You’ll hear the occasional grump opine about how the atmosphere around the new park isn’t the same as the ‘Blatt, but whatever. Don’t let ‘em bring you down. You’re here to party. Speaking of which…
Walk around “The Yard” and find someone(s) to bum a beer from.
The crowd in this centralized parking lot dies down during the week. But, if you want to see it in all of it’s sun-bathed, beer-drenched glory, go the first day of the CWS. Flags flying, cans cracking, TVs and stereos blarring. It’s a large part of the overall tailgate scene at the CWS, which is as good a tailgate as the Omaha metro experiences every year.
Bounce between beer gardens at Slowdown and Old Mattress Factory.
I have a soft spot in my heart for both places. The sports fan in me loves the interior of The Matt. Plus, the Baseball Village they host is a smorgasbord of food and drink options, many of them local.
But the sports and music fan in me will always be partial to spending my non-baseball time at the CWS at Slowdown, the music-venue-turned-beer-garden-turned-DJ-booth-turned-cover-band hot spot during the Series. Great beer selection, no cover, solid TV placement outside, and a 20-foot projection screen in the main room inside. And once the games are over for the night, you can head back and close out the evening with good tunes, good brews, good buddies.
Speaking of which, that’s a good day. A long day. Let’s get some rest.
Sunday, June 15
- CWS game 3 (2 p.m. CT)
- CWS game 4 (7 p.m. CT)
Go to church at St. Cecilia Cathedral.
It’s beautiful. It’s peaceful. And it’s just a stone’s throw from North Downtown. Completed in 1959, it was one of the ten largest cathedrals in the U.S. at that time (thanks, Internet!).
After mass, walk 413 feet for brunch at Lisa’s Radial Café.
As you can tell, I’m a “breakfast guy.” And you can’t go wrong with the Radial. Whatever you want, they’ve probably got. And it probably better than you make it at home. Really.
Sneak into The Trap Room between games.
Tucked away between Slowdown and some of the only retail in North Downtown, the Trap Room is a good place to take a breather from the sports-centric milieu surrounding TDAPO. Again, solid beer choices. And add great Bloody Marys too the mix. Oh, and if you want to keep an eye or two on golf or something, they’ve got a few strategically placed TVs inside too.
Monday, June 16
- CWS game 5 (2 p.m. CT)
- CWS game 6 (7 p.m. CT)
- USA World Cup Match (5:00 p.m. CT)
While the worker bees head to the office, go find Fontenelle Forest.
Your day is going to include two baseball games and the first #USMNT match of the 2014 World Cup. So, start your day with a hike through one of the hidden gems of the Omaha metro area. Plenty of great trails, wonderful views, and serene backdrop. Plus, no one will try to sell you an ugly, overpriced 2014 Road to the College World Series t-shirt. Bonus!
Legs tired yet? No? Good. Go stand in line for General Admission to the afternoon game. A rite of passage for newbies and an old standby for folks in the know, going GA is easy if you’re willing to invest some time and some sunscreen. Lines can wrap, but everyone is (usually) in a good mood. And the view once you’re in the building is nothing to scoff at. You can’t beat the price, which is good because once you’re in TDAPO you’re exposed to the out-of-control concession prices that afflict almost all of the nation’s sporting facilities.
It might sound blasphemous, but leave the first game early and head to Barrett’s Barleycorn to join the American Outlaws.
Unless there’s a medical emergency (or, if my child’s screaming at me, which can seem like a medical emergency), I’ll never leave a sporting event early. But consider this a World Cup dispensation. Go try to jam into one of the best bars in Omaha for America’s first World Cup match. You’ll be welcomed (and yelled at) by the Omaha chapter of the American Outlaws, our country’s official U.S. soccer support system. They’re crazy, in a good sort of way.
Skip the night game and watch it after soccer somewhere on Leavenworth Street.
Barrett’s is the go-to spot on this fabled stretch of bars that used to feature Pauli’s. But Omaha’s most famous CWS watering hole doesn’t exist anymore, a victim of waning crowds after the event shifted from south to north. Still, Barrett’s holds its own during the Series, drawing big crowds and dishing out Chicken Phillies that haunt you in your food dreams.
Tuesday, June 17
- CWS game 7 (2 p.m. CT)
- CWS game 8 (7 p.m. CT)
Walk from Nebraska to Iowa and back via “The Bob”.
There’s a lot of sedentary life involved at the CWS. Sit all day at the game. Sit all day at a bar or beer garden, watching the game. Get some exercise while you’re here.
Visible from almost anywhere inside TD Ameritrade Park, “The Bob” is officially the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. It spans the width of the Missouri River, connecting parks on both the Omaha and Council Bluffs banks of the Mighty Mo. The bridge connects 150 miles of trails on both sides. So do some biking, or some running, or some jogging, or some walking. Just GET UP already.
Have lunch and buy random shit in the Old Market.
Odds are, this is the second-to-last doubleheader day of the tournament. So don’t venture too far away from NoDo. There are plenty of great food and drink options in the heart of Omaha’s downtown. Plus the brick streets and antiquated buildings are all historic and whatnot. Makes a guy feel cultured and such. Plus, there are plenty of places to spend more of your hard-earned money on things that you really don’t need. Isn’t that what vacation’s for?
Wednesday, June 18
- CWS game 9 (7 p.m. CT)
Go to the Henry Doorly Zoo … on a weekday morning.
Face it, you knew this was coming. You can’t talk to a local Omahan about Omaha and not hear about the zoo. But, it’s worth it. It is. Totally worth it.
Just don’t go during the first weekend of the College World Series. Promise me you won’t. It will be miserable. It will be overly crowded. It will be overly smelly. And that’s just the parking lots and bathrooms.
Go when it opens, stay through lunch. Check out what they’ve done to memorialize Rosenblatt Stadium, the land for which the zoo now controls. Take one of those always-hard-to-read maps and visit every last creature on that bad boy. You don’t have anywhere to be until the evening.
That’s good, because you’ve worked up a hunger worthy of a Dinkers burger. Head west of the zoo before you go to TD Ameritrade Park for the night. Order from the extensive burger options. Maybe leave time for a nap before you head over to the game.
Thursday, June 19
- CWS game 10 (7 p.m. CT)
Wild Card!
Omaha’s tourism options are more than just a zoo. Don’t believe me? Hit up some museums. Check out Lauritzen Gardens. Go shopping inside or outside. Or just relax in the hotel pool. Your puppies are probably barking after doing so much awesome stuff the past few days. You’re welcome.
Friday, June 20
- CWS game 11 (2 p.m. CT)
- CWS game 12 (7 p.m. CT)
Just when you thought you were running out of steam … doubleheader day!
Two teams are perfect. The other two are battling back, trying to force Saturday games. These games are intense, so as a baseball fan they deserve your full attention. All that stuff I told you to do the first weekend of the CWS in and around TDAPO? Do the other things you walked by but didn’t check out. The crowds aren’t as ferocious. But the beer is still cold. Speaking of which…
Saturday, June 21
- CWS game 13 (2 p.m. CT – If necessary)
- CWS game 14 (7 p.m. CT – If necessary)
Self-guided beer tour!
There may be two games today. There may be one. There may be none. All you know is that all this thinking is making you thirstaaay. So leave the driving to someone else – Uber, Lyft, Yellow Cab – and chart your course to great breweries, beer bars, and other hot spots to hoist some brews.
Hit the Benson neighborhood for places like Krug Park, Benson Brewery, Infusion Brewery, and Jake’s. Go to the bourgeoning Blackstone district, anchored by “Beer Corner USA”. Take the tour at Lucky Bucket Brewery. Just don’t plan on driving.
Sunday, June 22
It’s the Sabbath. Go to church, this time at St. John’s on Creighton’s campus.
Creighton University is the host school for the College World Series year in and year out. It happens to be where I went to school, and it happens to be the reason for this website. So go check out the school, which features the wonderful St. John’s right smack dab in the middle of campus.
Then head to Brazen Head for some soccer.
The World Cup doesn’t happen every year. So, go hoist some Guinness with a bunch of other futbol fans in a place that always has a soft spot for soccer. The second U.S. match of the 2014 World Cup is at 5 p.m. CT. The crowd here won’t be as rowdy as the one at Barrett’s, but the beer’s just as cold and the soccer fans just as knowledgeable.
Monday through Wednesday, June 23-25
Get ready for the tournament inside the tournament.
Back in the day, the national championship game was on a Sunday afternoon, a winner-take-all affair no matter if the loser that day was experiencing its first loss of the double-elimination tournament. Now, the College World Series ends in a best-of-three championship format.