Paul Finebaum makes bold claim, puts Ole Miss CWS title in tremendous perspective

Ole Miss baseball just completed one of the most improbable championships in college sports history. The Rebels battled on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament but ultimately snuck in as one of the Last Four In. Then they plowed through the Regional, Super Regional and College World Series to win the entire thing. Hats off to Mike Bianco’s club for one incredible achievement.

SEC prognosticator Paul Finebaum is also mighty impressed with the Rebels run to the title. On a recent radio appearance with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic, Finebaum dressed the Ole Miss title run head to toe in praise. Especially considering where they were in the middle of this season and how they had to deal with their bitter in-state rival Mississippi State winning the whole thing just last year. Below are Finebaum’s comments from the show.

Finebaum praises Ole Miss run

“I truly think it’s one of the greatest stories in college sports history. I truly believe this is the type of thing that Disney movies are made from. Especially with the circumstances.

“Ole Miss has always been really good in baseball, but have, frankly, come up short too many times. I’ve been to Ole Miss/Mississippi State games on that campus and they’re as intense as anything I’ve seen. And imagine having to suffer through what Ole Miss fans suffered through last year. They had to watch their hated rival take center stage. And even though Mississippi State did not have a good season this year, they had to sit around watching this documentary on the SEC Network for the last two to three weeks. They had to be reminded of it.

“They were told they had no chance. Even when they made the playoffs, and made their run, we were all told it was Tennessee’s year. And now, with Mississippi State at home since mid-May — it’s one of the sweetest championships I’ve ever seen. Collectively, if you can’t be happy for [Mike] Bianco, you aren’t a real sports fan. This is truly remarkable.”

Ditto, Paul. Underdog stories like Mike Bianco and this Ole Miss team are what makes sports fans. Every game, every pitch, every year, you watch with anticipation because something extraordinarily unbelievable could happen at any moment. There are no guarantees in sports, except that every year will produce a story no one ever dreamed possible.

Mike Bianco and the 2022 Rebels are living that dream.