My dreams were first crushed at the age of 9 when I heard the news that the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics would be the last time softball and baseball would be included in the games. I was heartbroken. I was hardly naive enough to believe that I could pick up an entirely new sport at that time in my life, therefore it was rather distressing to learn that my own way to athletic fame has been completely depleted from my short life.
Baseball was first introduced to the Olympic games in St. Louis in 1904 and it became an official sport in the 1994 Summer Olympics. Formatted in a round-robin tournament fashion, the rules remained the same until the sport was revoked after the 2008 games. One interesting stipulation was the requirement that the players were to be amateurs, however the rule was quickly turned over in the 2000 games. Prior to the Olympic games, there was a preliminary tournament in which those that qualified earned their spot in the final 8-team tournament.
Softball was introduced as an Olympic sport in 1996, two years after baseball. The United States had a 22-game winning streak at the Olympics between 2000 and 2008, only ending their winning steak in the gold medal match against Japan. With such an intense history of triumph for America, it only makes sense for an adolescent ball player to dream of playing at the same level one day. I was a dreamer, however all was crushed in 2005 when I learned that I would never have the opportunity.
Baseball is America's greatest pastime. It is a game of brains, strength, and a true test of one's emotional capacity. It is a game reliant on failure and teaches you how to ultimately find success in a matter of nine short innings. Why wouldn't you want to accomplish these feats while representing your own country amongst the best of the best athletes around the world?
Softball and baseball are competing with karate, roller sports, squash, sports climbing, wakeboard and wushu for inclusion in 2020. Only one spot on the Olympic program is open. One spot. This one spot is competing between a sport that has been around since 1876, and sports that remain underrated and vastly unknown. I truly hope that the International Olympic Committee executive board will make the right choice to bring such a popular and well-known sport back into the world's competition.
Let's bring back the dreams of young children like myself for many years to come. I want the entirely of mankind to continue to construct a basis for people of all ages to play and practice with the goal of competing at a higher level.
If all goes as planned, the year 2020 is going to bring much positive change to the baseball and softball world. I hope to one day root for my favorite nation playing my favorite sport one day in the future, and I hope the future comes sooner rather than later.
