AUSL Is Promoting Growth in the Stadiums
In the Chicago Bandits' home stadium, young fans learn the importance of growing women's professional leagues. Here's what they have to say.
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During pregame warmups, The Ballpark at Rosemont fills with electric country music as fans file in. It’s Wild West night here at the stadium and fans receive a Chicago Bandits-branded bandana as they enter.
Sparkly cowboy hats pepper the crowd as young fans don their own softball uniforms. These young players parade around the warning track during warm-ups, each team getting an introduction as they walk through the field gates.
Odicci Alexander-Bennett earned the start in the Tuesday evening matchup against the Spark. The wind was blowing out to right-center at 16 mph at the time of first pitch, an almost guarantee of a fast-paced game.
Stadium Energy
When the lineups are read out, the Bandits players each have a unique handshake they do with their teammates, like putting on a crown or a short dance. These women are professional athletes, but they’re also friends and full of excitement to be able to play on the professional stage.
Even sitting in the press section, I hear girls cheering for players, calling their first names, as if they’re teammates themselves. They’re yelling classic travel ball cheers to their ‘friends’ standing in the batter’s box.
The Fan Experience
I spent some time talking to fans, young and old, about what the Athletes Unlimited Softball League means to them:
Emma and Madeline are 12-year-old twins from Chicago. They’re young softball players themselves, and get to experience their sport at the professional level.
They said, “It’s cool to have a professional team. [There’s] more potential for [girls like us] to go pro. They’re cool to watch and we can look up to them.” Before AUSL, players like Emma and Madeline didn’t have softball icons to look up to, and now their have a home team in their home city.
Their parents told Just Baseball, “We watch them on the TV and in the [Women’s College] World Series. All of the girls have been so nice. They talk to the younger ones and answer their questions. They’re good role models.”
These young players already understand the impact that AUSL is making in the world of women’s sports. It’s more than a league; it shows young players that they have a future. Something as small as a high five or a quick talk with a player deepens this connection and is more important than these girls might realize.
“It gives the younger girls hope,” one parent told me. “You always see the boys going to be major league players and now the girls have something to shoot for. Now they can see where their potential can take them.”
Katie, 46, is a season ticket holder with the Bandits. She brought her daughter Chloe, 12, for the first time. Chloe told Just Baseball, “It’s amazing to have a league.” A youth player herself, she already notices the potential for the future of the AUSL.
Katie says, “I wish they had this when I was playing.” In just its second traditional season, AUSL is a new addition to women’s professional sports, and fans wanted it much sooner.
She notices the stands filling up more and more each game. She says it’s harder to get tickets, but added: “[I] would rather see this than empty stands.”
Recognizing Youth Players
Every night at The Ballpark, the Bandits honor the youth teams that come to support them. All the young players wear their own jerseys and sit with their teams. Large swaths of colors cover the crowd. In the outfield section, every kid was wearing a green jersey.
Growing up playing little league baseball, my city’s professional baseball teams would host a similar little league night. We would walk around the warning track once a year and sit up in the nosebleeds.
The opportunity to watch professional softball would have changed the game for me. Seeing a future for women in my sport would give me the push to keep working hard, and it is an incredible experience for today’s young players.
The Growth
AUSL is taking off this season. The Portland Cascade just sold out its stadium for its home opener, a crowd of more than three thousand.
Coach Stanton shouts out Commissioner Ng, “hats off to Kim… and everybody, the pit crew, everyone that makes us happen.”
“We’re given an opportunity for incredible athletes and incredible role models to be able to play,” she adds.
For these coaches, the opportunity to represent athletes who are making a difference means the world to them. These athletes are more than just players, they make a lasting impact on their coaches, fans, and everyone in between.
“Proud to be the coach of the Bandits, and proud to go to battle and watch them do their thing,” says Stanton.
There’s still five action-packed weeks left in the season, and softball is not going anywhere. If you’re in a host city, get yourself out to a game and experience it first-hand. If not, tuning in to the broadcast still gives you the rush of being in the stadium.
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Written by
Roxie Freifeld is an intern for Just Baseball, leading coverage of Athletes Unlimited Softball. A student-athlete at Oberlin College studying psychology and sports management, she is…