For years, the knock on Dodgers baseball fans was their commitment. At every home game, thousands of fans abandon Dodger Stadium in the late innings to get a jump on the Los Angeles traffic.
Closer to home, no one would question Lisa Daniels’ commitment. For the past 32 years, Daniels makes the 5 1/2-hour drive from Navarre, Florida, to Mississippi State to watch the Bulldogs’ baseball team when it plays a home weekend series. You would never, ever catch her ducking out of a game early.
Until today, that is.
A happy confluence of events will certainly challenge the attention, if not the commitment, of MSU sports fans. The Bulldogs will take the court and the field in three important games, all scheduled to start within two hours of each other.
Mississippi State’s baseball team, ranked No. 2 in the nation, will take on No. 16 Auburn at 6 p.m., in an important early-season SEC showdown at Dudy Noble Field.
About 30 minutes later, Mississippi State’s men’s basketball team will play Liberty in an opening-round game of the NCAA Tournament in San Jose, California –the Bulldogs’ first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade.
At approximately 8:30, the MSU women, a No. 1 seed for the second straight postseason, will take on Southern University at Humphrey Coliseum as they begin their quest to get back to the NCAA championship game for the third straight year.
Under normal circumstances, any of these games would command the undivided attention of MSU fans.
Today, of course, is not normal.
And that’s why, for the first time she can remember, Daniels will be leaving the MSU baseball game before it ends.
“I’m going to the baseball game,” said Daniels, 61, a MSU grad. “But I’ll go over to the women’s game when it starts.”
As for the men’s basketball game, Daniels said she’ll watch it on her smartphone.
“I’ve actually watched games like that before,” she said. “I definitely want to see it.”
While Daniels admits her first allegiance is to baseball — she’s held the same seat along third-base line since 1987 — the success of MSU’s two basketball teams leaves her brimming with pride.
“Even though I don’t go to many games, I try to watch them all,” she said. “Even though I’ll have to leave the baseball game early, I’m really excited that the women are playing at home and I’ll get to watch them.”
Thursday, Theresa Vaughn and her son, Dejuan, were shopping at The Lodge for MSU gear.
“We’re from Oxford,” she said. “You can’t find this stuff there, obviously.”
The Vaughns will be back home in Oxford today, she said.
“Really, I think the best way to keep up with everything is to be at home,” she said. “We can watch the basketball games and listen to the baseball game on the radio.”
The State-Auburn game is available online for TV viewers and on the radio through the MSU radio network.
The men’s basketball game will be broadcast on truTV, which is available on area cable and satellite stations. The women’s game, which is sold out, will be broadcast on ESPN2.
For Chuck Johnson of Jackson, the scheduling conflicts aren’t really a big deal.
“Football is my thing,” he said. “I don’t go to baseball or basketball games, really, but I do plan to watch them on TV.”
The same scenario could happen again Sunday.
If the basketball teams win today, they’ll play both again Sunday with trips to the Sweet 16 on the line. The Bulldogs baseball team will wrap up its three-game series against Auburn at 1 p.m.
The game times for the men’s and women’s basketball games will not be announced until the conclusion of tournament play tonight.
Daniels is hopeful that Sunday all three teams are still playing.
“Maybe Sunday, the games will be spread out a little,” she said. “I’d like to go to both games here and watch the men’s game on TV. But if they’re all playing at the same time, well, it’s not the worst thing in the world. It’s a nice problem to have.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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