Opening Ceremonies

Well, we are two games in…. two wins in!! 

Currently, I am on the bus back to the Olympic Village in Tokyo. We rode the bullet train to Fukushima, but we are about 2/3rds of the way threw a 5-hour ride on a normal bus back. Why? I don’t know. But the advantage, it is allowing us to make more memories! Well, at least the back of the bus is… they are rambunctious, but in a good way. It makes the front of the bus laugh quite a bit. I think the most recent roar came from Val beating Aubree in “odds.” We shall see how that bet plays out.

You guys hopefully have seen the games, so I won’t rehash things you can read in the box score. But, man, it has been fun. I was so excited to get the start against Italy. Having been on this stage before, I was able to remember the nerves I had the first time, and remind my teammates that those nerves, emotions and butterflies are worth remembering and using in a positive way. I didn’t have many nerves this time, but rather pure joy. I don’t remember ever being THAT excited for a game… but I am also 38 (in case TV or social media hasn’t let you know that) so there’s lots of things I have forgotten over the years.

Regardless of empty stadiums, we made the most of our 2020 debut. The energy between players is high and contagious. Pitch to pitch, at bat to at bat, we continued to build and get a bit better. That carried into game two, as well. The scoreboard doesn’t show how many good at bats we had. Outcomes do not always tell you if an AB (at bat) was good or not. Moni threw fire, while the defense came up big! Did you guys catch the relay to cut down the run at home?? Holy cow, fire me up!!! I was in the bullpen, but I saw it and jumped so high! Those are the exciting plays we live for (clearly supported by the 10 replays of that play on the start of our bus ride). 

Tomorrow, we are off from games. We will have practice, then watch opening ceremonies from the (Olympic) Village. I don’t know what the decisions will be for athletes at opening ceremonies given Covid. The team has known all along we wouldn’t be able to go to opening ceremonies because we play the next day. This same situation happened in 2004 (good omen?), and while it’s a bummer, we are here to play!! After going to it in 2008, I can attest, you don’t get home until 3:00AM, so being ready to play the next day is next to impossible. Be on the lookout for some pics in our outfits though! We will have our own ceremony if we have to!

I’ve seen some comments about the beds…. Yes, they are cardboard. They were made this way to be sustainable/recyclable… not the other reason the media is hyping up! In regards to us playing on a baseball field, this is the custom over here in Japan. Also, to get back in, we had to combine with baseball, and part of that was making it economically beneficial, which means one field, and sharing! But to the first point… Japan has the best professional softball league, and it’s completely played on converted baseball fields. It’s not a slap in the face, it’s just how they do things here, and to be honest, to play in the Olympics, I’d play in a parking lot (well, that might be a tad exaggerated). We don’t mind. After 13 years, the Olympics have begun for softball, and the six teams here are stoked to showcase our sport.

‘Til next time...

#38