Tom Osborne, Jay Williams, Joe Carter & My All-Access Day at the CWS
THE TAPE ROOM // VIDEO ARCHIVE
Some sports memories survive as stories. Others survive on tape.
This one has both.
During an all-access College World Series experience in Omaha, I somehow found myself doing things that would have sounded completely ridiculous if you had told me about them beforehand — including playing catch with legendary Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne and going head-to-head with former Duke basketball star Jay Williams.
Fortunately, there’s video.
WATCH: An All-Access Day at the College World Series
The video captures a whirlwind day around the College World Series, including encounters with athletes and sports personalities from several different worlds.
But for a kid who grew up in Nebraska, there was one moment that towered over everything else.
I played catch with Tom Osborne.
Yes. That Tom Osborne.
I had grown up watching Osborne coach Nebraska football. Decades later, there I was at a College World Series event in Omaha, throwing a football back and forth with one of the most important figures in Nebraska sports history.
It was surreal then.
Watching the footage years later, it still is.
And Then There Was Jay Williams
Apparently playing catch with Tom Osborne wasn’t enough humiliation potential for one afternoon.
I also stepped up to a basketball shooting challenge against Jay Williams, the former Duke superstar and national champion.
I put up 27.
Jay put up 28.
So, technically, history records this as a loss.
The Tape Room prefers to remember it as Jay Williams narrowly escaping with his reputation intact.
WHY THIS TAPE MATTERS
The video isn’t simply a highlight reel from an event.
It’s a surviving piece of a very particular moment in I-80 Sports Blog history — when covering sports sometimes meant getting out from behind the keyboard, wandering directly into the action, and occasionally making the questionable decision to compete against professional athletes while cameras were rolling.
More importantly, it preserves something a written recap can’t completely recreate: what it actually felt like to be there.
The people. The access. The College World Series atmosphere. And one completely unexpected game of catch with Tom Osborne.
That’s why this tape is still here.
THE TAPE ROOM — ARCHIVE NOTES
Artifact: Original video
Event: College World Series
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Featuring: Tom Osborne, Jay Williams, and others
Format: Video
Source: I-80 Sports Blog archive
Related Collection: I WAS THERE!
READ THE ORIGINAL STORY
I Played Catch With Tom Osborne — And It Was Everything I Hoped It Would Be
The original I-80 Sports Blog story tells the full story behind the footage, including the Tom Osborne encounter, the Jay Williams shooting challenge, and the rest of an unforgettable all-access College World Series experience.
