I hate to say it, but there may be things even cheesy bread can’t fix.
I’m sure cheesy bread can mend a broken heart. It can definitely erase a bad memory of a night. It can unite people and forge friendships.
But, the Hoos’ loss in the College World Series last night is one thing cheesy bread may not be able to fix.
The first game brought a feeling of dread to the city of Charlottesville.
I laid in my bed watching the game; but let's be honest, baseball is about five innings longer than my attention span, and I couldn’t bear to watch it any longer. The truth of the matter is, we won that game. Virginia baseball won eight of the nine innings, but the loss they suffered during the third inning was just a hair too much too come back from.
The Hoos managed to come back from a seven point loss to end the game at 9-8. Our comeback was inspirational. I was torn between wanting another inning and my lingering resentment for the vast stretches of time baseball monopolizes.
My friend texted me she wanted cheesy bread, but I went on to sleep instead. I would get cheesy bread tomorrow when we won.
With both schools making their first appearance in the College World Series final though, neither team was giving up, and the contest was far from over.
Our hoos came back with a vengeance for the second game. I found myself hopping around town to meet up with different friends throughout the eternity that is a baseball game.
On a big game night for a Virginia team, the streets are quiet. Everyone is in front of their TV. Walking on the quiet corner, suddenly a cheer would raise from Boylan to Trinity, from Biltmore to Crozet. Charlottesville was united in their wahoowa.
Virginia baseball came back in the second game with a 7-2 win. We had momentum, we had energy, we had a third game for a chance to win it all.
I was much too excited for cheesy bread.
Virginia fought valiantly, as they always do. Coach Brian O’Connor said of his team, “I know the bounce-back this team has shown all year long. You know when you go through a season with a team, you start to learn and understand what they're made of and what the fiber of a team is. I told the team after the game last night that there is no panic in this ballclub. Come out tonight and play a great ballgame, and we'd have a chance to win.”
Alas, we walked away with a 3-2 loss when John Norwood hit a solo home run at the top of the eighth inning. My friends and I decided to celebrate like we did though. Because we love our Hoos. We went out, we had fun, and we ended the night with a visit to the College Inn.
No cheesy bread cant make us win the College World Series.
But cheesy bread can remind us why we love our Hoos. We love Charlottesville.
We love being together. We love cheering on our team, because they truly work so
hard to make us proud.