I learned about club baseball when I was a professor at ECU. I started shooting the ECU club baseball team on a regular basis and became enamored by the quality of play and that the ball players were to me "true student athletes." However, during that first regular season of being around club baseball I really didn't know anything about the NCBA.
ECU made it to the NCBA WS that year. I was invited to join the team and go to Paducah, Kentucky for the series. Unfortunately, or fortunately, that was not to be. I then learned that there was going to be an audio broadcast of the games.
Now let there be NO mistake. I am Old School baseball. I hate artificial turf, like pitchers battles, and I love listening to games on the radio - yes kids, there were handheld radios LONG before smart phones.
I escape into my happy place when I listened to the masters of baseball broadcasting such as Vince Scully, Jack Buck, Harry Caray. I didn't listen to the game, I was AT the game. The pictures that they painted were so detailed I could easily see the game in my mind, I could smell the popcorn and Harry Caray's Budweiser.
After listening to my first NCBA WS game announced by Ryan Norris and I added another name to my short list of favorite announcers. I was blown away. I thought, this NCBA must really be a class organization if they were able to capture this professor announcer. It was then and there that I decided I wanted to try and be a part of the NCBA as well. I then contacted Christian Smith, but that's another story for another time.
If you love baseball I strongly encourage you to listen to the Golden Voice of Ryan Norris call a game. You too may be transported to your happy place as you feel that you're at the game.
Until next time, be safe, be good and seek to find ways to go to your happy place.
