The Women's College World Series is arguably some one of the most raw and entertaining games in athletics.
Maybe it's my love for the game or maybe it's my admiration, but something about those games and those teams keeps my eyes glued to the television screen. Their relentless effort, no matter the inning, translates their thankfulness for being able to play the game they love on the big stage. Their non-stop cheering resembles the blood, sweat and tears it took to get there with the girls that became their family.
They play the game like they have nothing to lose.
That got me thinking, they really do not have anything to lose (well, besides the World Series itself). Division I softball and the Women's College World Series is basically what young softball players work so hard for. For boys, they dream of putting on the jersey of any Major League Baseball team. While that dream is hard to achieve, it is something that can keep them going after the hardest slump.
Girls do not have that anymore.
The Women's College World Series is the highest achievement for softball players. While it is an amazing feat, why can't there be more?
When I was younger, I watched Monica Abbott, Jennie Finch, Jessica Mendoza and Cat Osterman decked out in America's colors, playing softball in hopes for the gold medal. I watched Olympic softball.
Those big names in softball set the stage for all of the younger girls. We could look up to them; we could aspire to be like them.
Then, after the 2008 Summer Olympics, softball and baseball were no longer involved in the Olympics.
This move worked out okay for baseball because there are still 30 professional teams filled with top-notch talent. But for softball, that is not the case.
In all honesty, every four years for the softball showcase was not enough as it was. Then, the International Olympic Committee robbed the world of it all together.
For some it was just an entertaining Olympic event, but for the young girls tossing up an 11" softball, it was so much more than that. It gave us something to work for, something that made the raspberries and bruises less painful. If they could do it, so could we.
Basically what I am saying is: bring it back. Bring back Olympic softball.
Put that light back in softball player's eyes. Of course, the national teams can only hold so many women on their roster. However, if there is that goal to aspire to, the competition would be fierce, making the team full of the level of talent that the MLB has.
Put that light back in softball player's eyes and the Women's College World Series would only be the debut of these talented players in the spotlight. It could go beyond the game itself, as well. The women on the 2008 Olympic team paved their way to further their careers in the field. Like many professional baseball players, Mendoza made her way into broadcasting, breaking barriers for women in sports.
Give more women the opportunity to break barriers on and off the field.
Until that changes, the women that have worked so hard for so long will simply hang up their cleats when their time is up. For some, it is after high school. For some, it is after playing four years of college softball, no matter the level. For all, it happens way too soon--sooner than it needs to.
