World Cup of Softball: Jessica Mendoza

Respecting Your Opponent

Jess Mendoza — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 22:47:00 GMT

One more game to go for the World Cup Championship and it is no surprise we are facing Japan yet again for the finals. There’s no doubt that since the last Olympic Games in 2004, Japan has been one of the biggest, if not the biggest rivalry for our team.

In 2005 they won the first annual World Cup, beating us in the finals and also went on to beat us in their own Japan Cup. Last year we took back both titles in the same tournaments, playing them in both championships, before losing to them at the World Championships in Beijing, and having to come back to beat them for the championship the next day.

We have been to their country five times in the last six years, played in front of their home crowds, toured different parts of their country, appeared on their TV sports stations and have pretty much tried every type of Japanese food there is -- even their version of a McDonald's quarter-pounder with cheese.

It is a great rivalry and one that I look forward to every time we play them. One of the most interesting parts of the rivalry is that in all of the interactions there is always an inability to communicate because of the language barrier. But through the sign language and the funny giggles, there is always an understanding of respect and competition.

We have had many close games, with each team walking away with a loss. But as we get closer to the Olympics in Beijing next year, and tonight being one of the last times we will face Japan before the Olympics, our team needs to make sure those losses stay on the other side of the Pacific.

What Inspires Me

Jess Mendoza — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:11:00 GMT

Two games into the World Cup and it was just how I remembered it from last year: amazing fans and great USA softball. It is so exciting to see my teammates come up with such big hits -- like Tairia Flowers GRAND SLAM in the first inning. It was a shot and really started the game off with a bang.

We have also had some really special fans in the form of bat girls. Today we had a bat girl who won the KFC Bat Girl Challenge online (almost 7,000 votes!) -- her name was Reba Williams. She was so much fun to have in the dugout! The two bat girls we had yesterday during our game versus Venezuela inspired us all. They were Katie Winkle from Connecticut and Brittany Whipple (my left field buddy!) from New Jersey. Both of these girls were sent to us from the Make-a-Wish Foundation because their one wish (they both have terminal diseases) was to meet the USA national softball team. They were the absolute best, and to think they could have asked for anything -- but it was us they wanted to meet.

Well, after hearing their stories and hanging out with them before and during the game, it really put life into perspective for all of us and made us feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet such strong and inspiring girls. Makes you think twice about how you feel after a strikeout or an error. It makes me feel so lucky to just be in a USA uniform with such talented women and meet such great fans like Katie, Brittany, Reba and all the people we had dinner with tonight at the Ultimate Fan Zone. Looking forward to meeting more amazing people the rest of the tournament and seeing our team come up big like we did tonight!

Coming Back Home

Jess Mendoza — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 21:58:00 GMT

First of all, I am so excited to be out on the field and playing again with Team USA. We opened up our season with the Canada Cup last week, which is a great tournament, but I do have to say I was anxious to get back here to Oklahoma City in front of our home crowd.

We got into town from Canada on Monday and have been practicing and training ever since. Even though we only have a couple of days between the last tournament and this one, we still try to take advantage of this time to work on our defensive and offensive drill work, weight training and speed development -- this is what allows us to maintain what we worked hard on all year throughout our season.

Now it is time for the best part -- let the games begin! I CANNOT WAIT! Last year's World Cup was probably the most fun I have had playing this game, and that was solely due to the energy and enthusiasm of the fans.

One thing different this year has been the weather. A lot of the women on the team are from southern California, and many of us have never heard thunder and lightning like we have been hearing the last few days. I'm not going to lie, the other night when the thunder was shaking the windows and the lightning lit up the whole sky, we were calling each other and hiding under our pillows like little kids!! It is crazy weather to us and I am glad it has cleared up for now because I'm not sure everyone would have left the safety of their pillows to leave the hotel and go to the game tonight!

One last thing before we leave for the game, it is good to be back home in OKC!!!

2007 World Cup of Softball

Jess Mendoza — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:06:00 GMT

Look for blog postings by USA Softball star Jessica Mendoza during the 2007 World Cup of Softball, July 12-16.