As anybody who has spent time around my kid would guess, there was also plenty of talking. She’s just finishing up her first softball season in two years so there was discussion about strategy, about where balls should be thrown if fielded by different players at different times. There was also talk about where the gills would be on a sea unicorn, why some popcorn tastes better than others and plenty of commentary on the outfits and hairstyles of those around us.
She seemed to be enjoying watching the game for it’s own sake and not just the music and snacks so there was also talk of some of the other stadiums within driving distance that I wanted to visit, a Double A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies about forty five minutes one way and and Triple A affiliate of the Red Sox forty five minutes the other.
This in turn led to a discussion about why there wasn’t anyplace where we could go and watch a professional softball team which in turn led to a discussion about why to my knowledge there wasn’t any. A later interwebs search reveled that there were in fact a few leagues active around the country and that in the not so distant past there would have been a few places for us to travel to but they had since gone defunct. I had no idea.
Why is it that softball is so disrespected? I really enjoyed watching Oklahoma beat Florida State in this year’s Woman’s College World Series but it was hard to get invested in players that I knew I would never hear of again. I remember Jennie Fitch pitching in the 2001 series and the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics but can’t name another softball player ever. I can give you at least a dozen each of WNBA players, woman golfers, tennis and soccer players, gymnasts, track and field stars and even beach volleyball players. I can even name a few female MMA stars. Softball? I’ve got nothing.
Some of the issues are the same ones that the men’s game is facing. There are too many games, they take too long, and there isn’t enough action. Attendance and ratings fall every year and the average age of those watching increases, 57 according to the most recent numbers I could find, the highest of all the major sports. Old folks like me are still watching but that’s about it. Sponsors and networks aren’t going to take a chance on a woman’s version of a dying sport.
They hardly take a chance on any women’s sport and it’s really no wonder. A poll a few years back showed that 1 in 8 men thought they could score a point in a game on tennis against Serena Williams. I’m sure there are at least that many idiots who think that they could hit a couple of baskets in a WNBA game or go 3 for 4 against the top softball pitchers. There’s this notion that woman are so far inferior physically that it’s just not interesting to watch them do something that any relatively athletic dude could do. It’s ridiculous.
Another problem is that because you can’t find coverage on television people have a hard time developing interest. That lack of interest leads to those in charge of programming not covering the events. Vicious circle ensues.
I wish it were different. I have a ten year old that enjoys playing sports and watching them live but she wants to watch the girls play. The only times she’s really spent any time watching sports on television have been USA Women’s World Cup win a few years ago and a New York Liberty vrs Connecticut Sun WNBA game that we stumbled across a few weeks ago. Next year we will probably try and get to a few UCONN softball games and I’ll search out the college tournament again but it would be nice if it didn’t take so much effort.
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Previously Published on Thirsty Daddy
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internal images courtesy of author
