After the U.S. National Team's decisive 9-1 victory over Venezuela, the debate wasn't how far did Crystl Bustos' monster home run travel -- a considerable 300 feet -- but whether USA Softball's recent success in tournaments such as the World Cup is hurting the sport internationally.
There was a time when the competitive balance of fastpitch softball on the international level was fairly even. During the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the distance between the pitching mound and home plate was a paltry 40 feet. Some, such as Hall of Fame softballer Michele Smith, contend this allowed for close games that any international team had a chance to win.
Some fear the now standard 43 feet between mound and plate in international play, which was introduced to cut down on scoring, has produced a competitive advantage for a dominant USA Softball pitching staff that is almost impossible to hit.
And losing the Olympics might be the price we pay for success.
We're Number One
Everyone has a theory about what happened. Why a sport that seemed to be ascending in the world of international competition was suddenly removed from the Olympic repertoire after 2008.
Some, such as Smith, think softball got lumped in with the national pastime unintentionally. "I think they expected to make that decision for baseball and not for softball. It was a comedy of events for softball to get voted out." Others think it's nothing more than an Anti-American bias. (Check any softball message board for affirmation to this fact.)
Others, like shortstop Natasha Watley of the U.S. National team, think the international fan base just isn't there. "Softball is a great spectator sport. We have great fans here in the U.S. But I think that's where we're hurting. It's not a world-wide sport."
But everyone agrees that it's imperative to get softball back in the Olympics. Not just so players like Cat Osterman and Jennie Finch have places to throw their devastating riseballs but for countries who depend on international Olympic funding to support their teams and promote softball in their respective countries.
"I worry about the Australian teams--Italy, Great Britain, and Greece," Smith points out. "Any of the teams that were really starting to make some progress in the European countries where we have to get stronger--it's essentially going to kill them over there."
Beijing or Bust
No one doubts next year's games in China will be significant. Cat Osterman echoes the sentiments of many current and former USA softball players when she stresses how important it is for this generation of players to do well next year. "This is one of our last go-arounds. We're ready to put everything we have into it."
But ironically it may be the performance of the Chinese National Team that determines softball's chances for inclusion in the 2016 games. Of all the rising teams in international play, nobody has improved faster or spent more money leading up to the games than China. (China has sandwiched their trip out to Oklahoma City with a playing tour against pro teams in the National Pro-Fastpitch Federation -- with mixed results.)
So if you see some members of the USA Softball fraternity privately waving a Chinese flag during the USA/China game tomorrow at 8pm EST., you'll know it's not just case of conflicted loyalties -- but self-preservation.