National Champs Visit the Home

Last May during the College World Series the defending NCAA Champion LSU Tigers took time out of their busy schedule to have lunch and visit with boys from the Home. The visit was made possible by the Home’s Recreation Director Bill Auxier and the Lions Club of Greater Omaha.On arrival, the Tigers were “mobbed” by the boys.

After entering the Dining Hall the team broke up and sat with boys from all the cottages. The boys asked lots of questions ... and had lots of baseballs for the team to sign. Bill Auxier presented several special awards to LSU players, including one to a player he saw make a special effort to stop in the stadium parking lot and give a small boy an autograph.

Then LSU Head Coach Skip Bertman spoke. Coach Bertman’s heartfelt comments on overcoming the barriers in your own mind held a special meaning for the boys ... you could have heard a pin drop as he spoke.

After lunch, groups of boys and players toured the campus and cottages. Later, the boys and team met back in the Recreation Center to laugh and shoot baskets.

Many boys walked with the players back to the bus as the team prepared to leave for their afternoon practice.

The Tigers went on to win their second straight NCAA title – and fourth in the 1990s – the following week. But regardless of the team’s play on the field, the LSU Tigers were already champions to The Omaha Home for Boys.

Thanks to generous donations of tickets, many of our boys were able to attend College World Series games.

Before the LSU-Stanford game started, Tony stopped by the LSU dugout to talk with two members of the team he had met during their visit to the Boys’ Home.

In the fifth inning, as Tony walked behind the bleachers toward the restroom a ball bounced down through the stands and landed in front of him. He picked it up, then looked at the large screen monitor and saw the replay of a home run being hit by LSU left fielder, Wes Davis.

Tony took the ball back to the dugout to have it signed.

Wes Davis was a little more than dismayed to see the young man he had just met at the Home, and had just spoken with earlier, ending up on the receiving end of his 40th homer of the year.

A final note to the story, when Tony got back to the Home he presented the ball, as a parting gift, to one of the boys leaving to rejoin his family.

The College World Series is a special time of year for boys at the Home and many people all over the country. This year for one of our boys it was a magical time.