How ‘bout them Tigers!!!

It’s Friday as I write this, and I can honestly say it’s been an exhausting week.

From Monday night’s thrilling extra-inning victory to Tuesday’s rain-delayed Texas win to Wednesday’s tie-breaking, knockout punch to a national championship, I’ve been watching intently, replaying each game with co-workers the following day and discussing with my dad what was indeed the game-changing performance.

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I was at the old Box the day it closed and the new Box the day it opened. I wasn’t at the championship celebration on Thursday, but I’m sure the championship flag will be raised once again at the start of the 2010 campaign. The intimidator will also be in place then, I understand, and some parts of the stadium not completed this year should be open.

I can’t wait to see it all.

Our locally-tied players, junior Ryan Schimpf (likely to turn pro) and senior Ryan Byrd, ended their LSU careers on top. I know how proud their families must be, and I can only imagine how tired. The Schimpfs and Byrds have been regulars at the ball park all spring — for many springs — and this culminating trip to Omaha was their championship as well.

It belongs to the rest of us, too. We were joking around at The Daily News office Tuesday morning about how hard we played and how tired we were after Monday’s extra-inning victory.

But late-night work kept a few of our dedicated employees from seeing games two and three. And I understand Mother Nature’s strong outburst in the Covington area on Wednesday also kept one of my favorite cousins and big LSU fan, Franklinton resident Derek Seal, from watching the game.

I hear from one of his co-workers at W-ST he wasn’t real happy about getting called out to work after a strong storm knocked out some power in St. Tammany. But I’m sure by now he’s watched a recording of the game over and over, and young son Wyatt is probably already wearing his championship gear.

Speaking of championship gear, I hear Spike McCullough was even publicly cheering on the Tigers last week. Think we could get him to trade that green shirt for a purple one for an indefinite period of time? After a while, he’s sure to come to realize what a cool color purple is.

We’ve got 69 days now to relive the glory of the baseball team, get our houses in order, finish up our vacations and rest. Then we start it all over again with a late-night kickoff (9:30 p.m.) in Seattle, Wash.

Baseball star/wide receiver Jared Mitchell will be gone (as a first-round MLB draft choice he’s likely headed for some serious wealth), but outfielder-turned-pitcher Chad Jones will be lined up in the defensive back field ready to inflict some pain. And after his second sack, he may even hold up two fingers in the air just for old times’ sake.

I can’t wait.

Sandy Cunningham is general manager of The Daily News. She can be reached at sandy.cunningham@wickcommunications.com.