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In one of the worst sports television moves in recent memory, the first game of the Women’s College World Series softball finals will go up against Game 3 of the NBA Finals tonight. If the softball series should go to a deciding third game on Friday night, they will go up against the NBA Finals Game 4, too.
What programming whiz at Disney’s ABC/ESPN group was in charge of that bad idea?
While the Denver Nuggets visit the Miami Heat for Game #3 of the never-ending 9-month pro basketball season, a very competitive (but brief) college softball championship series gets underway tonight.
Oklahoma City is the annual host for college softball’s best two games-out-of-three Women’s College World Series. Florida State (58-9) will have its work cut out for it to defeat the two-time defending national champion Oklahoma Sooners (59-1).
Regardless of this year’s winner, at least one team will finish the season with 60 (or more) wins.
Talk about having a home stadium advantage! OU (located in Norman, Oklahoma) is playing just 30 miles north of the school in OKC. If having more than 90% of the home crowd wasn’t already intimidating enough, the Sooners are sporting the longest winning streak in the history of college softball.
Oklahoma has won 51 straight games this season entering Wednesday night’s Game 1. The former national record was 47 straight wins by Arizona which started in 1996 and carried into 1997. The Wildcats won the national championship in both of those seasons.
The Florida State Seminoles softball team will need a lot of skill and a little bit of timely good fortune in order to wrestle the championship away from the homestanding Sooners.
If you haven’t watched a college women’s softball game before, one of the more unique features is to hear the hand-clapping chants coming from the dugout of the team which is at bat in each inning.
These young ladies set the mood for their team. These are rehearsed chants which are honed over the course of the season. The dugout spirit crew even provides a bit of choreography at times, too. They can be quite entertaining at times.
Here’s an old one still used by several teams:
“There she goes just a-walkin’ down the line,
Singin’ do-waa-diddy-diddy-dum-diddy-do.
Pointing her finger and laughing’ at you,
Singin’ do-waa-diddy-diddy-dum-diddy-do.
Ball two, ball three, ball four,
C’mon pitcher walk some more.
Do-waa-diddy-diddy-dum-diddy-do,
Next batter up says, “Walk Me Too!!!”
The bench players in softball have become the dugout pep squad. Their energy and fun helps to keep the mood less stressful and the team more focused.
In addition to the chants and coordinated moves, some of the dugout groups decided to add a little fashion into their routines.
In the not-so-distant past, a few of the LSU softball players dressed up in a horse mask, an Iron Man mask, a fake beard and a striped “Cat in the Hat” top hat, too.
Uh-oh! These players were having too much fun for the fuddy-duddies called the NCAA.
Beginning in 2016, the evil Darth Vader types of the NCAA forced the umpires to help crack down on some of these creative dugout antics (however entertaining they might be) to ensure that the game is played with more dignity and sportsmanship.
The NCAA softball rule book (Rule 3.1.2) states: “Coaches are responsible for ensuring that their players are legally equipped and properly attired to reflect a positive image of the game. Uniforms, accessories and equipment (including batting gloves that must be worn, carried in the hands or put out of sight in pockets) must be worn properly and as designed.”
Translation – the NCAA’s “No Fun” overlords will keep a closer eye on your dugout. They will stymie a team’s dugout creativity if they believe it was interfering with the game itself.
In response, some college softball teams are beginning to make their own unique items out of supplies which are commonly found in the dugout. Paper hats have become a big item this year.
Perhaps we need another softball dugout cheer. Spirit – Let’s hear it!
“We stole on you, we stole on you
While you were picking your nose
We were up on our toes, and we stole on you
Yeah, we stole on you
While you were brushing your hair
We were already there, and we stole on you
YEAH, WE STOLE ON YOU!!”
Yes, these chants can be rather entertaining, indeed! But that’s not all which happens in the dugouts of college softball teams.
The Tennessee Vols softball team actually printed up hundreds of phony dollars in fake money which was stashed somewhere in their dugout.
This faux money had a picture of a different Tennessee softball player on each bill. When someone hits a home run, the happy player was greeted back into the dugout with a shower of UT’s phony home run money.
Do I see the NCAA frowning once again? There cannot be too much fun going on!
In 2023, the NCAA cracked down on another form of celebratory fun. This year, college baseball and softball teams are not allowed to bring any object onto the field of play to help celebrate a teammate’s home run or the game winning score.
Gone are the days of those massive WWE World Championship belts to put around the slugger’s waist to wear into the dugout! No more “Big Daddy” home run bats waiting at home plate for college baseball players or even those “Hot Momma” softball bats, either.
College baseball and softball has come a long way since the days of the late inning Rally Caps!
Tonight at 7PM Central on ESPN, the Women’s College World Series gets underway. Game 2 will be on Thursday night (6:30PM) and, if needed, the deciding Game #3 comes on Friday evening at 7PM.
The Oklahoma Sooners are the overwhelming favorites to win their third consecutive national championship. If they do so, they will tie UCLA, Arizona, and Florida for the most consecutive national titles in college softball history with three in a row.
Batter-up!
“Bubble gum and Tootie fruity
Bubble gum and Tootie fruity
We got the power to whoop your booty
Yee-haw
Whoop your booty
Yee-haw”