Mussatto: Texas softball coach Mike White is alone in wanting to move WCWS from OKC
Alabama coach Patrick Murphy referred to Oklahoma City as the “light at the end of the tunnel.” The destination every softball team dreams to reach by season’s end.
Take that, Mike White.
It was White who said Tuesday that he would “love to see” the Women’s College World Series rotate sites. Added the Texas coach: “We get it, but it is a huge advantage obviously for Oklahoma.”
As leader of the Longhorns, it’s not like White was Mr. Popular around here in the first place.
But White, softball’s resident villain, fanned the flames on his way to the 405 when he suggested moving the Women’s College World Series from Oklahoma City — home to the iconic event since 1990, save for 1996 when it took a one-year detour to Columbus, Georgia, in conjunction with the Olympics.
We’re biased around here, to be sure. The Women’s College World Series is a crown jewel event, the unofficial start of summer in Oklahoma City. The WCWS is part of the city’s identity, a bond that’s only grown stronger with near-annual appearances by the Sooners and Cowgirls.
More: Why Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski got emotional talking about WCWS opponent
Of course we’d like to keep the Women’s College World Series in OKC beyond 2035, when the current contract expires, but we’re not the only ones.
Despite OU’s home-field advantage — and OSU’s, to a lesser extent — not one of the five other visiting coaches in the eight-team tournament agreed with White.
“There's not a comparable space,” Murphy said. “We don't have Dodger Stadium and Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. We have this place.”
Devon Park isn’t perfect, but the 13,000-seat stadium is the premier softball facility in the country. It’s not just the stadium, which has expanded with the interest of the sport, but the surrounding practice fields and renovated locker rooms and press areas.
What other sites did White have in mind?
“I don't see anybody else going to pony up probably $60 million, $70 million to build a facility like this,” Murphy said. “You're not going to do it overnight. It's going to take at least three or four years, right?”
White is right about the Sooners having a “huge advantage,” but it’s not like OU is a World Cup host country with an automatic bid. The three-time defending champs would have earned their ticket to the event no matter the location.
Would Patty Gasso’s clubs have won all seven of those national championships without an overwhelmingly favorable crowd behind them? No way to know.
“It's part of the game,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “I don't think there's an advantage. I think the players on the field know we have to play. We know it gets loud. We know there could be more bodies wearing a certain color. I don't really look in the stands, so I never know.”
As Murphy said, “deal with it.”
“I feel like this is becoming Omaha,” Murphy said. “Creighton was good in baseball. Nebraska was good this year in baseball. If they go to the World Series, it adds another spice to the tournament.”
Gasso tiptoed around the topic.
What can the Sooners say, really?
“As long as it's here, we're going to take advantage of it,” Gasso said, “just like anybody else would.”
More: Why OU softball coach Patty Gasso has the 'best senior class' in NCAA history
Coaches react to Mike White’s comments on OKC as WCWS host
Kelly Inouye-Perez, UCLA
“I can't speak to things that are out of our control. I've been fortunate to play as a player here and to be able to see the stadium grow, the (crowds) get bigger, the scoreboards. Everything that's come from how they've grown the sport. This is the headquarters of the College World Series.
“Whether (OU is in), whether they're out, anytime we get a chance to play, it's softball and it's between the white lines. For that, wherever it is, I want to be in it. For now I've been fortunate to have a lot of great memories in this stadium, no matter who we're playing against or who's in the stands.”
Jessica Allister, Stanford
“I think there's not going to be any such thing as equal and fair no matter where you're at. That's just not the way the world works.
“I think what we've built here in Oklahoma City for the sport of softball is really, really, really special. So do I think there's some advantages built in there? I do. Do I think that they outweigh what this event does for the sport? That's a hard jump for me to make.”
Tim Walton, Florida
“I don't believe the games need to move from Oklahoma … The community, the state, it's something that people look forward to.
“My only thing was just trying to get this similar to Omaha, down in Bricktown or somewhere like that where the kids, the families, the fans can have a little bit more of an atmosphere. Not to say that this stadium isn't a great stadium. It is. Just the atmosphere they have at TD Ameritrade downtown and some of that stuff is different. I've been there once. We just don't have that here.
“I'll tell you this. My wife has been on my butt for two days, ‘How do we get a parking pass?’ She said, ‘How am I going to get there? You don't understand. It's packed.’
“Long story short, it would be nice to walk to your hotel after the game from Bricktown. But it's here. It needs to stay here.”
Marissa Young, Duke
“The game doesn't know. We have to show up and be able to keep our composure and play great softball.
“No secret, it's an advantage. A lot of these teams here, everyone but us, has been here before. That obviously works in their favor. At the end of the day it's going to come down to how well we play and how gritty we are for seven innings.”
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
More: Relive OU softball's run to three straight WCWS titles with our 'Crimson Empire' book
Thursday's WCWS games
Game 1: Alabama (37-18) vs. UCLA (42-10), 11 a.m., ESPN
Game 2: Oklahoma (54-6) vs. Duke (52-7), 1:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 3: Stanford (48-15) vs. Texas (52-8), 6 p.m., ESPN2
Game 4: Oklahoma State (49-10) vs. Florida (51-13), 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Texas softball coach Mike White alone in wanting to move WCWS from OKC
