This is an opinion column.

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The sufficiently hydrated Sigma Chi fraternity brothers who made the trip to Eastlake, Ohio, for the Division III Baseball World Series wanted me to pass along a couple messages to everyone back home.

Student Nick Anglin and his yellow and black striped overalls wanted to make sure that I put down “in writing” that he was the No.1 fan of the Birmingham-Southern baseball team.

“We’ve been doing this for three years,” Anglin said. “This is what we do.”

I’m not sure Anglin will remember our conversation on Saturday morning, but that’s probably for the best.

Oh, and one of the well lubricated frats bros wanted to know why AL.com always writes bad news, but then another frat bro corrected his buddy and explained that AL.com is just writing the facts.

Well, not really, because it’s my job to write my opinion. Birmingham-Southern College closed on Friday, and on that very same day the Birmingham-Southern College baseball team played in the D-III Baseball World Series. My analysis? These players and fans will go down in history for giving us one of the most unique stories in the history of college sports.

My reporter’s notebook came away with plenty of color on Friday after visiting an overflowing and boisterous tailgate of nostalgic and emotional Birmingham-Southern baseball fans. This weekend at the Division III College World Series isn’t just about the players and coaches on the Birmingham-Southern baseball team. It’s also about the many supporters of Birmingham-Southern who made the trip to Northwest Ohio to cheer for a school that no longer exists.

Birmingham-Southern takes on Randolph-Macon at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday at Classic Park. It’s a win-or-go-home scenario after Birmingham-Southern began the tournament on Friday with a 7-5 to loss to Salve Regina University. Friday was the last official day for Birmingham-Southern College, which means the Panthers’ baseball team technically will be playing without a school on Saturday.

Has that ever happened in the history of collegiate athletics?

Through it all, the Panthers have represented the memory of Birmingham-Southern with pride and grace.

“This group has been so focused,” Birmingham-Southern baseball coach Jan Weisberg said. “This has been their release, just going and playing. So the message is just go play the game and they’ll come out and play the game hard.

“Just go play the game hard against another worthy opponent. That’s the beauty of this game, and being in this moment.”

Just go play hard. That’s competition in its purest form. That’s why we play and watch these games.

Birmingham-Southern is making history here in Northwest Ohio under the strangest of circumstances. Now officially playing without a school, the courage and grit of the Panthers’ baseball team is receiving national attention. NBC Nightly News featured the team on Friday and national publications have gravitated to the story. A documentary film crew has been shadowing the Birmingham-Southern baseball team ever since advancing to the super regional round of the D-III NCAA baseball tournament.

This unexpected run by Birmingham-Southern is capturing hearts across the country and fans at the tournament have made it their mission to send off Birmingham-Southern in style. Without question, the fans of Birmingham-Southern were the highlight of Day 1 at the D-III Baseball World Series. They showed up in numbers and let their voices be heard.

This is what those voices had to say: Birmingham-Southern is going to live on in the hearts of its alumni forever, and the impact that Birmingham-Southern has had on its city can never be erased.

This is the last time that Birmingham-Southern fans can cheer for their school at a sporting event. With the history of over 160 years at their backs, they’re doing the memory of Birmingham-Southern proud.

And for the fraternity members of Sigma Chi, the opening day of the D-III Baseball World Series was a legendary scene that will go down as one of the best memories of their lifetimes. That is, of course, if they can remember any of it after partying all day.

The 14 guys from Sigma Chi flew from Birmingham to Ohio on two private jets provided by Birmingham-Southern supporter Dick Shea.

Shea is a hero for his contributions to the day. The fraternity brothers did their best to lead the stadium in a singing of the national anthem when power blinked out during player introductions. Team Sigma Chi then heckled opponent Salve Regina University throughout the game. Birmingham-Southern fell behind 7-0 early, but stormed back and made things interesting at the end.

The 7-5 loss to Salve Regina sent Birmingham-Southern into the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament and now the Panthers will have to claw their way out. Win or lose, this team has done something no one expected, and that’s give Birmingham-Southern a happy memory in the end.

SOUND OFF

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the most controversial sports book ever written, “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”