For The Love Of The Game

By Ryan “The Goose” Gosiker

It is easy to get caught up in professional sports where athletes often play for the generational wealth it can bring their family. Often times, we watch pro sports and get frustrated because it seems they have lost the passion they had as a kid that made them great. All the springs and summers spent on the road between recreation, travel, and all-star games. All the post-game snacks bought by various parents and all the laughs of stories told from parents about their youth. Kids play the game because they love the game. Some are forced into playing by parents, but the majority of us understand why that is an issue. Once the business gets involved, it becomes worrisome, and we see great players crumble in the minors and never pan out. All of those who never make it are all the best players in their town’s history and likely their high school too. We need more players to get back to that, so I decided to use this space today to highlight a team that did that. Being that this is New York, not many people are familiar with Birmingham Southern, a Division 3, liberal arts school in Birmingham, Alabama. They opened their doors in 1856, have a 57% acceptance rate, and it costs roughly $21,000 to attend on average after aid is calculated. On March 26th, 2024, the school announced that it will shut down effective May 31st of this year due to financial hardship. That leaves the 1,000 person student body with little time and not many options. For non-graduating students, they must transfer and find new opportunities. This included their sports programs like the baseball team. A team that was eliminated in the 1st round of their conference tournament before rallying off 3 straight wins to win the Regional title. The next weekend, they went to the #2 ranked team in the country and beat them twice to win the Super Regional and advance to the Division 3 College World Series. As the school was closing, this team had one more chapter to write, but funds were tight with the school closing, so a GoFundMe was started that raised over $110,000 dollars for the team, their travel, food, and other expenses. On the day the school closed, they lost in the Opening Round of the World Series before capturing a thrilling 9-7 win via a walk-off on June 1st when there was no more school before falling on June 2nd to be eliminated. These kids did not make this miracle run by chance or by caring about money. They did it for each other, the school community, and for the love of the game. They don’t write stories like that every day. Check out my sports show: “Game Time with The Goose” every Saturday from 8:00 to 9:00 AM on WTBQ AM 1110 FM 93.5 and on WGHT Radio with co-host Zach Kruk, Sports Director of WTBQ and WGHT!