A sellout crowd in Oklahoma City watches last night's USA-Japan game, a re-match of the two gold medal game participants from last year's Olympics. (Photo by Murray Johnson)

CAPACITY CROWDS FOR SOFTBALL
2009-07-19

Last year at the Olympic softball competition in Beijing, spectators totaling almost 180,000 came to the Games in Fengtai Softball Field to watch the best players on the world’s stage. Only the crowds that witnessed the action at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, were larger for the sport at the Games.

And the big attendance numbers keep right on coming.

Last night in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (USA), approximately 6,200 fans – exceeding capacity – filled the venue for the Japan vs. USA game at the World Cup of Softball 4 invitational tournament, an ISF-sanctioned event that concludes there tomorrow. Organizers had to break stride Saturday and permit access for fans to stand alongside the outside the outfield fence in order to accommodate the throng at the home team’s game versus last year’s Olympic gold medalist.

That scene in midwest America came 24 hours after a packed crowd filled Bob Van Impe Stadium in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada) for the opening day of the International Softball Federation XII Men’s World Championship.

Meanwhile, over in Taiwan on Day One of the softball competition currently being played at the World Games, ISF Deputy Secretary General Low Beng Choo (Malaysia) was noting that, “The last game (of the day) between Chinese Taipei and Japan was played to a packed stadium.” The final and grand final are sold out there as well.

And, last weekend, the 16th Canada Cup concluded in British Columbia, where each year total tournament crowds routinely exceed 100 thousand, and once again had great support, as shown in the photo below.

Softball’s popularity continues on all continents!

A full house in British Columbia last weekend listens to (left to right) BackSoftball Athlete Ambassadors Saskia Kosterink (Netherlands) and Danielle Stewart (Australia) and ISF VP/North America & BackSoftball Task Force Co-Chair Dale McMann (Canada) make a presentation on the Olympic reinstatement campaign.