Softball's heroes fight for their sport

It was one of those days, and there are a lot of them, when the emotional pain suddenly overwhelmed Michele Smith.

After finishing her broadcasting duties for ESPN, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and Team USA player was approached by a young fan at the 2007 World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City.

"She started talking about softball not being an Olympic sport in 2012,'' Smith said. "She was saying, ‘That's my Olympics, I wanted to play there, and they took it away.'"

Not for long if Smith has her way.  As an athlete ambassador for The BackSoftball Task Force she and fellow Team USA player Jessica Mendoza are actively lobbying for their sport this week during SportAccord, an annual gathering of 1,500 leading representatives from international sport organizations, including members of the International Olympic Committee.

In October the IOC could add two sports for the 2016 Games, choosing among rugby, karate, roller sports, squash, baseball and softball. To improve their odds, representatives of the multi-national BaskSoftball Task Force are popping up at meetings from Lausanne to Gambia to Denver, stressing the sport's excellent anti-doping record and global reach.

"We have great numbers, our federations are growing, and we're helping spread the sport in parts of the world where economically they are having a hard time,'' said Smith, one of eight athlete ambassadors. "The International Softball Federation has shipped out millions of dollars of gear to really grow the game.''

Added Mendoza: "I get asked all the time, what are your chances? Is it 50/50? 60/40?  I wish it were that simple. I wish there was a system where you could do this and that and ...but I'm confident.''

Mendoza, a four-time All-American at Stanford, won a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games and seemed poised to win another in Beijing.

But the Americans lost to Japan in the championship game, a double blow for Mendoza and her teammates. Instead of mourning softball's Olympic demise, however, the Southern California native went to work for BackSoftball, hoping for another shot in 2016.

"Obviously, to play softball as long as possible is a dream of mine,'' said Mendoza, who is expecting a child this summer. "I'm a workout warrior, and the way technology is ...

"But I really don't know what I'm going to be doing. Right now I'm really kind of putting my heart and soul into getting softball back into the Olympics.''

After competing in the 2007 World Cup, Mendoza met a young South African girl who'd watched the tournament.

"She said they'd broadcast it in a stadium on a huge TV,'' Mendoza said.

"She told me she wanted to be there, she wanted to be at the World Cup. She wanted to take this ball and bat and play. That put everything in perspective for me.

"It sounds cheesy. But I have the faith.''

Clay Latimer is a freelance contributor for teamusa.org reporting from Sportaccord. This story was not subject to the approval of the United States Olympic Committee or any National Governing Bodies.