Friday morning, the Hoover Sun reported that the Southeastern Conference decided to extend the contract with the Hoover Met for at least four more years, with options for 2029 and 2030 to host the SEC Baseball Tournament. With the Met’s recent upgrades, extending the contract was a no-brainer for the conference. Sure, they’ll be upset with the rain delays, but the Hoover Met makes college baseball in the Southeastern Conference so memorable.

Since 1996, Hoover, Alabama, has been the home of the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament. For an entire generation of baseball fans in the Southeastern Conference, Hoover is a yearly tradition where fans from across the footprint transcend the city for an exciting week-long party with a side of baseball. With the latest contract extension, a whole new generation of baseball fans has the opportunity to cherish the magic of the Hoover Met.

Keeping the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament in Hoover makes sense for a conference connected to the past. Where else would the feral kids of Hoover go to enjoy America’s pastime while their drunk uncles take over the RV lot, all the while the feral kids living the dreams of every kid in America to be so close to the future heroes of the sport? From the smells of Louisiana to the Hoover after-dark moments, keeping the SEC Baseball Tournament at the Met feels right. Rainouts suck, nobody is taking that away from that small but loud crowd, but it’s what happens during those rain delays that etch into the folklore of the place.

In a world of negativity and turmoil, the annual pilgrimage to the Hoover Met allows for Southerners to have a week where they get together like a family reunion with people from all walks of life who come together for the love of the game and the conference. Unless you’ve experienced it, the homely feeling of the Met is impossible to describe; there’s something about that place that heals the soul of a broken society. Sometimes, change is a good thing, but if it still needs to be fixed, don’t fix it. For every negative person about the Met, a million people cherish the connection we have as a conference to that baseball stadium.

Here’s to a lifetime of memories and good times at the Hoover Met. Thank you to the Southeastern Conference for allowing fans to cherish the Met.