U.S. Softball Loses Gold Medal Game
I’m not that interested in the Olympics, but softball is one event that I don’t mind — probably because I played it while growing up. So I kind of follow the Olympic softball team every now and then, especially since they usually have no trouble beating their opponents. In fact, they were something like 21-0 in Olympic play heading into yesterday’s gold medal game against Japan.
But then the unthinkable happened: The U.S. lost when it counted most. Just like the New England Patriots, being undefeated meant nothing when it came down to the championship game. The Pats lost the Super Bowl, and will forever be remembered as the team that couldn’t close the deal. The 2008 Olympic softball team lost the gold medal game, a disheartening way to end their time in Beijing. The fact that softball will not be back as an Olympic event for at least 8 years (and quite probably more), doesn’t help matters either.
Anyway, Japan ended up beating the U.S. 3-1 to secure gold on Thursday night. Some people are pointing to this game as a reason that softball should continue to be an Olympic event, saying that there is “parity” throughout the world after all. Um, yeah… Did they forget the part where the U.S. team had outscored opponents 57-2 in this Olympics prior to the medal round? Does that sound like parity?
Well, we’ll see what happens to softball eight years from now.