Olympic softball 2020?

starsnuffer said:

If you pay attention to what is going on with Olympic Softball, you'd know that there is a big push to get it reinstated for 2020, and that the work has to be done now. It is not a national issue, but rather an international issue, so putting spots on Faux News is only going to contribute more to the international opinion that it is a joke and not really a sport.

The champions you speak of are the coaches and players going overseas to start up softball programs in other countries and offer instruction to get the international community inspired about the sport.

For what it is worth, James Easton, of the United States, is the reason softball is not in the Olympics, and he strikes me as the sort of fellow who would watch Faux News.

-W

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It's not that the rest of the world thinks softball is a joke. The main problem is that the level of play isn't good enough in enough countries to warrant inclusion.

Six national teams participated in the World Cup last year and only sixteen teams were in the World Championships the year before. I think the IOC closed the door on 2016 too quickly, but if softball will follow the lead of baseball with respect to outsourcing, then the export of the game could significantly change the international landscape within 12-15 years.

As far as business is concerned, if you're Easton, why wouldn't you want your bats being swung by players from Argentina to Zambia?? Looking at long-term business prospects worldwide, the rest of the world is a lot bigger than the combined population of the U.S. and Canada.

SoftSocDad said:

It's not that the rest of the world thinks softball is a joke. The main problem is that the level of play isn't good enough in enough countries to warrant inclusion.

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Rubbish. There are more than 100 members of the ISF. Just because you don't see them play on TV doesn't mean they don't play.

Six national teams participated in the World Cup last year and only sixteen teams were in the World Championships the year before. I think the IOC closed the door on 2016 too quickly, but if softball will follow the lead of baseball with respect to outsourcing, then the export of the game could significantly change the international landscape within 12-15 years.

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Baseball is NOT the leader in this and should be dismissed by ISF. Softball was admittedly dismissed by members of the IOC because they thought it was baseball.

As far as business is concerned, if you're Easton, why wouldn't you want your bats being swung by players from Argentina to Zambia?? Looking at long-term business prospects worldwide, the rest of the world is a lot bigger than the combined population of the U.S. and Canada.

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This would be the best way to go. But this has nothing to do with convincing governments or programs around the world it is important to have the game included, but has everything to do with paying and playing a political game with the IOC members. They have been shown the numbers including the TV exposure the game gets. The ASA had 52 hours of scheduled TV (ESPN/ESPN2) time in 32 days this summer. The IOC only cares about their coffers and how much they can squeeze in there.

Want to control the IOC? Stop giving them billions of dollars for media access and rights. Of course, you cannot expect the media to take such "painful" action.

Originally Posted by starsnuffer View Post
If you pay attention to what is going on with Olympic Softball, you'd know that there is a big push to get it reinstated for 2020, and that the work has to be done now. It is not a national issue, but rather an international issue, so putting spots on Faux News is only going to contribute more to the international opinion that it is a joke and not really a sport.

The champions you speak of are the coaches and players going overseas to start up softball programs in other countries and offer instruction to get the international community inspired about the sport.

For what it is worth, James Easton, of the United States, is the reason softball is not in the Olympics, and he strikes me as the sort of fellow who would watch Faux News.

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Well this quote here backs up your argument SoCal. "Faux News" is by far the largest cable news company. Almost as large as all the others combined. Yet starsnuffer just eliminated them from his argument or point, just as Mr. Easton has eliminated market share!

There are 31 National teams in Europe pushing hard. (Probably minus Greece since I think their program has pretty much collapsed) There are also a few "observation status" programs starting to create programs. They need backup! But what is softball compared to the grand sport of lawn bowling and yoga competition Mr. Easton?

Originally Posted by SoftSocDad View Post
It's not that the rest of the world thinks softball is a joke. The main problem is that the level of play isn't good enough in enough countries to warrant inclusion.

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Well now here is some myth. There are 6 teams in Europe alone that could give the US Olympic team a run for their money. Even Czech Republic challenged team USA in Oklahoma City for 5 innings, and their best pitcher wasn't there. She did pitch in the ESF Championships in Italy. That tournament isn't a real World Cup. It is an invitational tournament of sorts, and I don't think I have ever seen more than 8 teams there. The only teams who have been there occasionally that weren't there was China. After the umpiring debacle I'm not sure Japan will be back. So that tournament has some good teams, but there were 4 teams that could be beaten by Netherlands and perhaps Italy, and at times beat Japan and the USA team. Not before, but now? Yes! And Russia, could be thrown in as competitive as well if they get a real international level catcher.

That makes a competitive pool of teams as USA, Japan, China, Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Italy, Czech Republic, Russia, Great Britain (Americans), and Spain, France, and Germany a little behind them. That is a group of 13 teams. Who have I missed? And every one of them could beat many American university teams. Is it a top 20 group of college teams? No! But it isn't bad and much more interesting.

and their best pitcher wasn't there.

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Seems like that is common excuse... Japan has the same one. She must be doing something wrong. The fact that they don't have a pool of Pitchers by now... shows their problem. They never will unless we pay for it, and hand over the how too's. Forget the IOC, and the UN. Let's get it over here where there's toilets and TV. Lets run the Games, and just give them airfare...

Remember that softball was eliminated from the games because the international community felt that it was "baseball for girls", and at the time, baseball was "evil" and wracked with tabloid steroid scandals (you know, the kind of "news" Fox reports instead of anything with substance). The vote had more to do with distancing ones self from performance enhancing drugs and the drama surrounding it in baseball then it had anything to do with supporting amateur sports on the world stage.

So, you could blame Canseco, Mcguire, and Bonds as much as you blame Jim Easton, but remember the vote was tied and Easton abstained, so while it was not the fault of any one person, it could have been saved by one person. That person chose not to be the hero that could have offered inspiration to millions of young girls and boys across the globe.

-W

starsnuffer... you got it right !!!! The Boys got the LL world series... we need one on the same level, in terms of TV coverage.

starsnuffer said:

with supporting amateur sports on the world stage.


-W

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Now, that's funny!

starsnuffer said:

The vote had more to do with distancing ones self from performance enhancing drugs and the drama surrounding it in baseball then it had anything to do with supporting amateur sports on the world stage.

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Agree with this, but I find it ironic that there were no concerns around including cycling or weightlifting.

Perfect Circle said:

Seems like that is common excuse... Japan has the same one. She must be doing something wrong. The fact that they don't have a pool of Pitchers by now... shows their problem. They never will unless we pay for it, and hand over the how too's. Forget the IOC, and the UN. Let's get it over here where there's toilets and TV. Lets run the Games, and just give them airfare...

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Well I can't argue that completely, but I will say this. There are TV's there, even big flat screens in Russia. But the biggest difference was the quality of umpiring. The European Championships had a much higher caliber of umpiring than the World Cup last summer. Not close! And the best umpire I saw was from Boston, Mass representing Croatia. I will amend this by saying one umpire crew was fine at the WC. The other was horrific! And yes, Ueno couldn't pitch at all with pulled oblique muscles. And I don't know why the best Czech pitcher wasn't here. I just know she was in the EFS championships.

The reason they want more events in Europe is to promote softball there. If we are US centric, we won't achieve the goals of it becoming an international sport. At Ronchi de Legionari last summer there were thousands watching the final games. It was all over TV and the talk of the town. That is what we need. We NEED these teams to achieve a high level of play and get support form their local governing bodies. So I hope the ISF championships are in the Netherlands in 2014. The weight of the US's talent and prestige can not carry this sport internationally. Canada didn't seem as good to me as in the past, Australia seems to be in the same boat. Japan is still the best prepared and defensive team in the world. I haven't seen China lately. And that is just too small a "clan" to keep this sport relevant in the Olympics. 31 teams! 31 teams in Europe can help push it back into the picture.

As far as drugs go, I think they can trust the women more than men, unless they are from the former Eastern block, or had a sex change! Look at that S. African sprinter. Look at cross-country skiing, weight-lifting, East German swimmers, and vote buying in skating. All of these things were scandals. Softball didn't have any except maybe that mustache on that one Greek player