After yesterday’s post so many of y’all (and by many, I mean Jeana and lurker) inquired about what exactly a Diamond Darling is, that I feel compelled to answer. I’m also sure many others were wondering, but just didn’t want to ask.
Appease me here, people.
I started writing this post earlier and realized when I typed the words “Texas A&M was a land grant institution founded in 1876”, that I was, in fact, writing the most boring post of all time. All the two of you wanted to know was what exactly a Diamond Darling is, not the entire history of the Texas higher education system.
If y’all would have asked me during college what my major was, if I answered truthfully, the answer should have been Diamond Darlings. I spent more time and energy on this extracurricular activity that I did on anything else I did in college, as evidenced by the fact that when my dad came to visit during my sophomore year in college, I pointed at the wrong building and told him it was the library.
Oh yes, that tuition was money well spent.
Diamond Darlings are essentially bat girls/hostesses for the Texas A&M baseball team. They are chosen through a series of applications and interviews with athletic department personnel and now there is even a test to assess their knowledge of baseball. The test is part of the tryout process because during my first year as a Diamond Darling, one of the girls kept referring to the umpire as the catcher.
So, obviously not everyone was trying out for pure love of the game.
And no, that girl wasn’t me.
Now, I usually hesitate to mention that I was a Diamond Darling (so why am I posting about it for all the internet to see?) because unless someone went to Texas A&M and knows what all the Diamond Darlings do, there is a certain stereotype that seems to come with saying you were a bat girl. It’s kind of an assumption that all we did was hang out and date the players, which was strictly forbidden and we never did unless there were extenuating circumstances, like if he was really cute.
The thing is though, being a Diamond Darling gave me some of the best memories of my college career. It’s how I met Gulley, Jen and Tiff, who still remain my best friends in the world. It’s the reason that to this day if I hear Van Halen singing Top of the World on a spring day, I feel an urge to get in my car and find a baseball game to watch. It’s the reason that I watch The College World Series every year and cry no matter who wins.
My last year as a Diamond Darling, the Aggies actually made it to the College World Series. Gulley and I were dying to make the trip to Omaha with the team, but summer school was starting that same week and we were both supposed to start school. My dad agreed to let me go, but Gulley’s dad told her she needed to stay and go to school. Y’all can imagine his surprise when he turned on ESPN one night to watch the Aggies play and saw Gulley sitting on the bench outside the dugout at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska blowing a huge bubble while looking at the camera.
And we both agreed, it was totally worth it.
So, there you have it. A little history of the Diamond Darlings. I’m sure I could have done other things that probably would have looked better on a resume, but I guarantee they wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun, given me nearly as many good memories, or taught me that you should never bend at the waist to pick up a baseball bat while wearing short white shorts.
Always bend at the knees.
There are some lessons that can’t be learned in a classroom.