The Diary of Andrew Lane

June 11, 2003

I have to admit that I was a little surprised when I was asked to keep a diary of my experiences at the 2003 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. I guess they wanted the perspective from a freshman making the trip.

As I’m writing this, we’ve just arrived here in Omaha. The day started by practice early afternoon at Mark Light. As I was leaving the locker room to get on the bus, I noticed that a rather large crowd had gathered to see us off. It was great to see our Hurricane faithful take time off of work to say goodbye.

We spoke with President Shalala and Coral Gables Mayor Don Slesnick before we left the park.

I’ve got to tell you that it wasn’t the easiest of flights. We had a layover in Atlanta and there was a really bad storm that was preventing us from landing. It was the bumpiest flight I have ever been on. A few players, which will remain unnamed, were holding on for dear life. I wasn’t too bad, but it’s amazing to see how quickly people can react when the flight gets a little rocky.

We arrived in Omaha at 11:11 pm. As we were about to disembark the plane in Omaha, the flight attendant announced that one of the passengers had a message for another passenger. Sure enough, it was Shawn Valdes-Fauli. “Coach Morris, we wanted you to know that we love you and you are more than just a coach to all of us. I just wanted to send this song out to you.” He then broke out into You Are So Beautiful To Me, and sang perhaps the best rendition of it I have ever heard. It was the funniest thing I’ve seen all season.