'You want more of it': 2021 Tennessee baseball ending reminds us to cherish every memory, no matter the size of the stage

For any college baseball fan, the College World Series may be the most magical place on Earth. But the Vols also created plenty of magic in Knoxville this season. Let's not lose sight of that, even with Tuesday's sudden ending in Omaha.

OMAHA, Neb. -- They say this place is the pinnacle of college baseball. "The Greatest Show on Dirt," they call it. And they would be right.

When I walked toward the concrete steps and through the brick-layered security checkpoint at Gate 4 on Sunday, I was in awe.

In my first ever trip to the College World Series, I already had been through the massive throngs of people, fighting tooth-and-nail through traffic just to park between two massive tents, complete with grills and coolers all around. I already had taken humongous sniffs around the block, as fans from LSU, Florida, Arkansas, Miami, Notre Dame, Clemson, Boston College and more laid slabs of food across picnic tables, seasoning and slicing in celebration of an event they attend whether their school is playing or not. I already had seen the flags waving across downtown, the brackets scribbled onto storefront windows, the drinks labeled in honor of each of the eight teams included at this wonderfully niche representation of America's soul, wrapped up into one glorious nine-inning sport. 

Flags representing each CWS team in Old Market Omaha (Jake Nichols)

And I already had been to the front of TD Ameritrade Park, performing the obligatory pose in front of the "Road to Omaha" statue that I was so excited to finally see, because it meant I had arrived. I was covering my alma mater at one of this country’s great bucket-list events, yet no amount of pinching — I did pinch my arm a couple of times — could wake me up from this dream.

So, yes, I already had seen glimpses of what makes this time of the summer in Omaha so special, especially since this is the first year of the CWS’ return after it was ripped from us last summer. 

The Road to Omaha statue in front of TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska (Jake Nichols)

But the inside portion of the park, where that Road to Omaha actually ends? It's an entirely new world, no matter who you’re there to watch.

Take the towering lights, for example, with those ladder-runged frames that lean into a wide Nebraska sky. Or the massive JumboTron in right field, drawing your attention up from the bright green grass and smooth, rich infield. 

And then, there's that perfect, panoramic view from dead-center. You know the one, whether from pictures or in-person. Wide, clear glass windows, reaching out and up to touch awnings that conjoin with those slanted spires to reach and reflect into the famed backdrop of the most prestigious logo in college baseball. 

The centerfield view of TD Ameritrade Park . (Jake Nichols)

It was all real. It was all here. It was all perfect. It was all... Omaha.

And yet, here I sit, a few hours removed from Tennessee's season-ending loss to Texas. Not thinking about the scene in front of me, as Mississippi State and Virginia clash under the same lights, same venue, same magic as when I arrived two days ago. 

Instead, I'm thinking about that cotton candy-swirled sky in Knoxville, the one that graced the horizon moments before Drew Gilbert's walk-off grand slam against Wright State. That's the image I'll always have from this season, as Gilbert's fire and Tennessee's grit kickstarted all sorts of drama that week, marking one of dozens of memorable moments at Lindsey Nelson Stadium this season.

The sky over Lindsey Nelson Stadium just a few minutes before Drew Gilbert launched a walk-off grand slam to beat Wright State in the Knoxville Regional (Jake Nichols)

"That was the craziest thing I've ever been a part of," said Tennessee senior Pete Derkay between tears on Tuesday. "I was kind of sitting there in the dugout next to Redmond, and I think we were both thinking the same thing, that if we got to Drew, like we had a really good shot. But nobody said a word to each other. And we were kind of just sitting there watching, and it happened and that was the craziest thing I've ever seen and from then on it was just the guys, all our guys were just feeding off of each other and just so focused on how can we get to the next thing and if somebody doesn't get it done, the next guy's going to do it."

But that's the way it's been for this team all season -- if one guy doesn't get it done, the next guy will. And that's what makes days like Tuesday so strange.

Remember when and where it all started, though? After Georgia Southern, after the Indiana State losses, after the UNC Greensboro and Georgia series, when LSU came to town for that first SEC weekend? Remember the first gritty introduction to the Legends of Lindsey Nelson, then when Paul Mainieri responded the next week? Remember the vitriol that the Legends spewed the next time, when Mainieri came back for the Super Regional that sent him into retirement, while simultaneously shooting the Vols here? Remember every moment in between, from the ‘Daddy’ hat to the dog pile?

It felt intimate yet powerful, being in that little stadium during Tennessee's two wins over Florida. It felt like a hazard zone when Vanderbilt came to town the next weekend, and it felt like each person -- even in limited attendance -- would collapse on one another in the most incredible way after Evan Russell's game-winning grand slam.

Now, think back to that Max Ferguson walk-off against Arkansas, to the Tony Vitello-Dave Van Horn rift afterward, and go ahead and turn the decibel level up a bit more in your mind. 

Remember when they opened Lindsey Nelson completely, and people flooded in like water through an irrigation pipe? Remember the SEC Tournament run, and the way this team just kept coming back for more? Remember the Regional clincher over Liberty, and the Big Orange Block Party that rolled through that entire weekend? Remember Tony Vitello bounding through the crowd, Gilbert tossing his helmet skyward after the walk-off grand slam, and the way the old, blocky building shook to its core for a 'villainous’ group that Vitello ultimately pointed toward the good side?

"Probably a lot of social media stuff can make these guys seem like they want to be the bad boys," he said Tuesday. "But they're just a bunch of kids that want to win for each other. And some guys that, off the field, you take that jersey off, they're pretty soft, and they're pretty good kids."

Nowhere was that more evident than after the final Super Regional win over LSU. No, not when fans were booing Mainieri, or when Tennessee overcame a downpour to win in Game 1 -- but when Jake Rucker caught the dog pile-inducing line drive, celebrating a final breath of fresh air, a long-awaited moment of triumph, for a fan base and team that's endured so much.

Derkay certainly appreciated that moment. Tony Vitello did, too. The emotion experienced on those days makes it easy to understand why they were moved to tears on Tuesday. Moreover, those moments are why this Tennessee baseball team feels like the one that got away, with the one that delivered, all at the same time. 

"It was unbelievable," Derkay said of the dog pile. "And the fact that we got out of it with nobody getting hurt was probably the best thing out of it. But that was the moment that I will never forget."

Here are a few more memorable labels: SEC East champions. Regional hosts. Regional winners. Super Regional hosts. Super Regional winners. First Tennessee team to earn a College World Series berth in almost two decades. 

That's quite a list of accomplishments, especially in a year after college baseball was removed entirely, leaving Vitello alone in his Knoxville condo, trying to figure out practices and routines for his players. 

"There's a meme for all the people that don't like us, can't see any tears yet, but I was locked up in that condo for a long time, man, a long time," he said, his voice cracking from the memory. "And then we had to watch these guys hit BP on the field by themselves, play catch, couldn't do anything."

This year’s accomplishment list goes up another notch when you consider the aforementioned return of the CWS to Omaha, and that Tennessee was part of the first eight-team slate to be welcomed back, almost like a long-lost family reunion with a cousin who hadn't been around since 2005.

But that accomplishment list reaches its peak when you consider the mindset of these Tennessee seniors. The ones like Derkay, who hugged and cried on Tuesday, celebrating what they've built, but also cherishing what they've lost. 

"I will remember this season for the rest of my life," said Derkay between breaths. "To do something that this program hasn't done in 16 years or -- yeah -- 16 years, to get back here, and ever since I stepped on this campus I said I wanted to change the culture here. And with Luc, Redmond and Will, that was just something that was on our mind. I'd say the lasting thing is we did that and Tennessee baseball is back."

So, what's next? Not Mainieri’s LSU job, at least not yet, for a coach who's only looking at what might've been in the past few hours.

"The social life hasn't been existent for quite some time well before our opening-day game," Vitello said. "Part of that is I want to do as good of a job for the school that gave me a chance. And I want to do as good of a job for a group that we thought could go pretty far.And the way the season evolved, like I said, the emotion's certainly not fake, I don't know if it's embarrassing or not, but it's coming from a place that's my number one concern is these guys. And I'll go back to the room and anyone who knows me, it will be bad how much I critique myself and it hurts. So I'm certainly not going to waste energy before a game or any other game having regrets that my mind wasn't right or we weren't prepared the right way to go into whatever game it might be."

Personally, I think that the fact that he teared up so much, and cares so deeply, speaks volumes about next season, so long as Tennessee’s administration fulfills its end of the bargain.

But for now, we go back to Derkay, who may not be thinking of the same sunset I am, but who still seems to think pretty great things are on the horizon for this program. 

"You want more of it," he said of this year's taste in Omaha. "When we made it to the Regional in 2019 and got eliminated from that, we knew we wanted more. To get here was great but if I had one more year, I want more. So for them it's just keep staying the course with everything and keep putting in the work that got us here this go-around and to keep doing that, I think Tennessee baseball will be a force to be reckoned with next year. And you could see us back here again."

Hopefully, we can say the same about the series as a whole next year, too. It's certainly been fun being a part of its return, even if the best memories this season were at 1511 Pat Head Summitt Street in Knoxville.