The happiest (rainiest) place on Earth!

Please, let me tell you about playing at the Wide World of Sports in Champions Stadium at Disney.

Being a Floridian, I knew that the "Sunshine State" was really just a cover for the craziest place where the sun shines, while it's pouring down rain. Ridiculous. Good thing Mickey has a ton of money and the Wide World of Sports field took the terrential downpour without blinking an eye.

I think everyone understood where I was coming from having called it the "liquid sunshine state" when our 12:05 start time turned in to a seven hour, forty four minute game! That has to be some sort of an NPF record, right?

The game started as planned, under beautiful Florida skys on a ridiculously hot day. The stands were packed (just around 10K people in attendance), and people were happy. Great names were in attendance like Stacy Nuveman, Lisa Fernandez, Jennie Finch, Stacey Nelson and, of course, the one-and-only Cheri Kempf (president of the NPF). Best of all, the game was turning out to be a good one as early as the first inning with a 2-1 score!

Then... came the rain.  

At 12:45, the bottom of the third inning, it started POURING, and it continued until 6:30 that evening. The teams took cover in the dugout, the dugouts that started flooding that is. Eventually they evacuated which was a sight to see as they had to make their own path (which looked like an obstacle course) to stay above the calf-high water.

 

This is the part that I think is cool: Despite the rain, the heat, the delay and eventually the 12 hour day they put in, neither team was above reaching out to the thousands of girls that were in attendance. As the rain turned on and off like a fire hose, the travelball teams would make their way down to the dugout for autographs. There was a friendly game of catch from the stands to the dugouts as balls and Sharpies were exchanged.

With all the time I don't think a ball went unsigned, every camera in the place has a memorable picture and no girl left without a smile--except that the game left the stands dry of people. I thought it was cool how many players took the time to mingle with the girls too. I saw a lot of one-on-one conversations. Not just in passing conversations either, talks where each player really made a connection with either parents or younger players.

I think a special thing about the NPF is the willingness of players to reach out to their fans. There is a newness and an unfamiliarity of being an influence to someone that these women are taking to heart, and are really excepting their position. I think it will change the game for the better. I have personally felt the impact of an encouraging word from someone I idolize, and with the reach of this league to the fastpitch teams around the country, the idea of "paying it forward" is spreading.

Everyone knows that women are endearing and powerful, and there's not a player in the NPF that doesn't exemplify this quality.

Christmas in July?!

Yes, folks. Santa is in Allentown.

Feel free to hum the tune as you take a gander at the wonderful specials we have going on through the month of July!

On the 12th day before Rockford, the Force gave to me “Buy a Gibson Shirt and Receive 1 ticket to a Rockford game” ($10 saving). –In Honor of Megan Gibson #12
Cost for Customer: $18.00

On the 11th day before Rockford, the Force gave to me “Buy a Margo Pruis Jersey for only $25” ($25 savings) only 3 in stock. –In Honor of Margo Pruis #11
Cost for Customer: $25.00

On the 10th Day before Rockford, the Force gave to me “Buy 1 Get 1 Free General Admission Tickets” ($10 saving) in honor of Stacy Birk #10. Good for Rockford series only!
Cost for Customer: $10.97

On the 9th Day beforeRockford, the Force gave to me “Buy a 2009 Autograph Helmet for only $90 (Savings of $60)”
Cost for Customer: $90.00

On the 8th Day before Rockford, the Force gave to me “Buy a General Admission ticket for only $8 to opening game of Rockford Series" ($2 saving) in honor of Savannah Brown #8.
Cost for Customer: $17.94

On the 7th Day before Rockford, the Force gave to me “Buy 7 General Admission Tickets for the Rockford Series (Available to the first 5 people)”. In honor of #7 Darcy Wood.
Cost for Customer: $70.79

On the 6th Day before Rockford, the Force gave to me “2 Free upgrades to VIP Lower Level (Savings of $6) in honor of #6 Kristen Erb.”
Cost for Customer: $21.94

On the 5th Day before Rockford, the Force gave to me “5 VIP tickets for $55 to any game in the Rockford Series” (savings of $10) in honor of #5 Clare Burnum.
Cost for Customer: $55.00

On the 4th Day before Rockford, the Force gave to me “Four (4) tickets+ One (1) personalized 2009 Autographed Softball for $44” in honor of #4 Brette Reagan good for the first game of the Rockford Series July 28th, order today.
Cost for Customer: $44.00

On the 3rd Day before Rockford, the Force gave to me “1 Ticket, 1 White NPF Softball Replica shirt, and 1 Autographed softball for $33” in honor of #3 Jessica Sallinger.
Cost for Customer: $33.00

On the 2nd Day before Rockford, the Force gave to me “Buy 2 tickets in VIP and get 1 free” (savings $13.97) in honor of Jami Lobpries #2.
Cost for the Customer: $27.94

On the day before Rockford, the Force gave to me “Buy a Disney Font Philadelphia Force shirt and get a general admission ticket to a Rockford game” (Savings of $10) in honor of #1 Auriel Jenkins.
Cost for the Customer: $18.00

Fill your [sandals] now! I judge if you're wearing socks or stockings with your sandals. I won't lie.

Play like a Pro!

There is the cutest thing going on at ECTB Stadium as I type. Two 12 & under teams are battling it out on the field, like the Force does weekly against other NPF teams.

The coolest part: Tory Yamaguchi and Stacy Birk are their coaches.

I would have fallen over as a kid if I'd had the chance for two pros to coach my team! Running down the first base line and getting a high five from a pro would have been awesome! It's not very often that things like this happen.

The Force takes pride in going above and beyond the call of duty to help encourage the girls that they were themselves not too long ago. Ok, ok, well maybe a while ago. But to see the smiles on these girls faces when they make a play and hear the encouragement from Yamaguchi and Birk is priceless.

I feel like they're getting more press than the Yankees do! There are coaches out snapping pictures like cameras are going out of style. Then of course, you have me that doesn't want to miss a play. (Of course I miss them all. I'm no professional.)

To top off all the fun and excitement... we're hosting a Pink Out at ECTB Stadium tonight to empower those who fight Breast Cancer. Birk and Yamaguchi are sportin' their new pink cleats (courtesy of Ringor); that's just a peek into what's pinkin' tonight, however. There are going to be ribbons, sweat bands, helmets, shirts and headbands worn by the Force. Who knows what else though, these girls can go the distance with themes (see kickball below).

There's going to be a lot of fun stuff tied in to tonight for the Pink Out. Come ready to watch, play and even bid on pink items that you can only find at ECTB Stadium.

I'm working on getting the pictures from the Play like a Pro sent to my e-mail, and I'll have them on here asap. I hope to see you all out at the field wearing pink tonight! Go Force :)

Rikpen?! Like the Ripken?

There is something completely new and unique that is coming to Force fans and softball players alike. We're teaming up with the Ripken Academy for a camp in Aberdeen, Maryland. It's going to be awesome!

The camp is open to athletes ages 7-15, it's three days (August 9th-11th) and there is a ton of cool stuff coming with it. For your time there you will receive lunch every day, a Ripken t-shirt and hat. Want to know the best part? Drum roll please.... You get to learn from the pros!

Who are the Force players that are going to be there, you ask? Well, just to head start the camp, the main instruction will come from none other than Jami Lobpries. Seriously!

If that name doesn't ring a bell for you, it should. Jami has a stat book that would knock your socks off. She is a 2008 graduate of Texas A&M, who of course went to the championship series in the Women's College World Series, and she hit a grand slam off Cat Osterman in the Big 12 Championship game! Even more recently, her first homerun on the season was off Angela Tincher. I bet you remember that name, right? She threw a no-hitter against the USA national team. Couldn't no-hit Jami! If those aren't two impressive swings from Jami, just check out our site to see what she's done this season in the NPF.

So if that's not enough. Who else could possibly come? You have a delectable buffet of Yellow Jacket talent with the following line-up: Savannah Brown and Jessica Sallinger.

That's right. The battery from Georgia Tech and two awesome veterans. Who should I describe first? Let's stay alphabetical so there's no bias, though there wouldn't be with these two!

Savannah Brown left a stack of records at Tech when she left the Peach State. The California native blew up the Atlantic Coast Conference holding the RBI record with 194 and third in Tech history in bombs-dropped, pardon me, homeruns with 45. That's just the fat of her stats with Savannah ranking in the top five in eight other catagories. The girl in the mask shouldn't be underestimated, that padding is required, she is tough through and through.

Last, but never least to the Force and the NPF, is Jessica Sallinger. You might remember her from the NPF Championship team the Chicago Bandits. Jessica has made her way around the country from her Georgia roots, to Chicago, out to coach in Ohio and lucky for us she is in Philadelphia for the summer sitting down batters without breaking a sweat. There are so many stats I could call off, but the World Wide Web might overload. Let's hit Tech first: Jessica is the winningest pitcher in ACC history, and on top of that sat down 1,398 batter's. How many?! Yup, I typed it right. Then in Chicago, she and Jennie Finch schooled the NPF from the circle. Jessica stayed in Chicago for three seasons and left with a 23-16 record overall. As for ERAs: a 2.23 in 2008, 1.34 in 2007 and 1.62 in 2006. What?! Against the best hitters in the game.

I'm telling you, bloggers. If these numbers don't impress you, you can e-mail me and I'll explain them to you. These girls have skills. On top of that, they're great people! These women are the best of the best: well-rounded, beautiful and professional athletes.

What I'm getting to is... come to the camp. Bring your girls out and let them learn from the crem de la crem. Check out the additional information on our site.

I want to sign up! You think I can pass for 15?!