Silver lining in the IOC's decision?

[Ken Krause]

I've noticed traffic has been down on the blog a bit this week. Hopefully just a combination of the people who'd be most interested being on vacation this week after concluding their summer seasons and the fact that I've been a bit lax on posting lately. This topic, though, ought to stimulate some conversation because it's somewhat controversial.

I know it's not quite dead yet, but my guess is the final vote is just a formality. It was fun seeing our sport in the world's most popular international athletic forum, and I'm sure it was a thrill for those selected to represent their country. That being said...

I can't help but wonder if this decision will actually help the NPF. Think about it.

First of all, one of the biggest draws the NPF has are the "name" players -- the Cats, the Jennies, the Jessicas, etc. During an Olympic year, those top players are absent from their NPF teams, which may hurt attendance. Not amongst the hard-core faithful, perhaps, but from the broader fan base they need to sustain a league. Yes, I know one of the reasons they have that popularity is the Olympics. But as long as ESPN continues to cover the WCWS and events such as the KFC World Cup brought to you by Six Flags, that popularity will still be there. They don't have to establish now, they just have to sustain.

Secondly, eliminating softball from the Olympics means one less place you can go to see high-level competition among post-college players. That makes the NPF that much more important. If the NPF is smart, they'll find a way to play up on that fact. Respectfully, of course. But where else can the average fan go to see that level of quality?

Finally, with Olympic squads limited to 15 players (or whatever the actual number is), it's tough for players to get the opportunity to participate. But with a vibrant and growing NPF, many more girls would have the opportunity to compete at that level. Maybe the teams would get enough money to provide locker rooms at all the parks. Perhaps USA Softball or the major TV networks will give it more attention and invest some promotional money to help it grow and thrive.

So perhaps a door has been shut, but a window has been opened. It remains to be seen if anyone will take advantage of it. And if there isa vibrant and popular NPF, maybe it will convince the IOC to reexamine the issue down the road.



More...

 

[Mark H]

You have a point. For baseball, the Olympics were great but it's the Major Leagues where they dream of playing and where they pull down serious pay checks. That didn't happen over night. There was a time when ML baseball players earned chump change. Perhaps in time. I can tell you this. As a Nielsen family you won't find any of my televisions tuned to the Olympics.

 

[Ken Krause]

Softball was about the only thing I ever watched in the Olympics. To paraphrase Groucho Marx, I realized as a young child that one person could run faster than another and that's been the extent of my interest in it. Track and field is boring. Bicycling is boring. Most Olympic sports are boring, and don't translate well to TV.

It will be interesting to see what affect this decision has on the overall ratings. That's what's going to bring softball back. That and major US sponsors pulling out because they're unhappy. The electronic petitions and all that are nice, and make you feel like you're doing something (like taking off your shoes in the airport makes you think you're safer), but they're largely ineffective.

Money talks. If revenues are down in 2012, and they believe lack of softball is the reason, you'll see it back faster than you can mis-pronounce the name of the guy who heads up the IOC.

 

[Mark H]

As a child I believed in the magic of the Olympics. As I found out how political they were my interest waned. Same with the Nat team to an extent but I won't reward the Olympics for dissing America by switching on my little black box representing how many thousand households.

 

[SnocatzDad]

Watching Little Leagues growth on ESPN for both boys baseball and girls fastpitch it makes me wonder if their organization doesn't have a better shot at getting fastpitch back in the Olympics than ASA does. If they do outreach for fastpitch the way they do for baseball and encourage other countries to form teams to compete on a world stage that might get fastpitch back on the international map.

 

[Ken Krause]

Maybe. But I get the feeling that most Little League organizations, at least on the local level, offer girls softball 1) because of Title IX concerns and 2) so they don't get too many girls wanting to play baseball and thus upsetting the order of things.

 

[Mark H]

Little League is not about high level baseball much less softball. It's about participation and production of their Williamsport show. Softball is very low in terms of their priorities and level of play.