The Clubhouse

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Oklahoma City, OK—The USA Softball Men’s National Team is set to make its television debut on July 22 at 12 p.m. CST on ESPN2. The game being aired on a tape delay basis is a match-up between the USA Softball Men’s National Team and the Japanese Men’s National Team during round-robin competition at the KFC American Challenge Series.   

This marks the first time in the history of the USA Softball Men’s National Team program that a game has been televised by the ESPN family of networks. Although the game is being shown on a tape delay basis it is still considered a milestone for the USA Softball Men’s program.    “This is a great opportunity to showcase the men’s fast pitch game to the entire country,” said ASA Executive Director Ron Radigonda. “We had great crowds during the KFC American Challenge Series and encourage those fans who didn’t make it to Oklahoma City to tune in and watch the USA Men’s team take on Japan.”

Flying from California to Wisconsin can be quite a bummer as you realize you are leaving the sunny beaches for the bug infested landscape known for its wonderful cheese. But then you see it………off in the distance like the scene from the movie Field of Dreams. Yeah….that’s it…one of the greatest places to play softball in North America. Circle Tap. The field sets in the middle of nowhere as far as I’m concerned. Nestled in the middle of corn fields and cheese factories, the Circle Tap Field represents everything that fastpitch softball is….a hidden gem.

Walking up to the field, you could feel the excitement. The Circle Tap Bar is huge. It looks like a big barn that’s been turned into a bar. From the parking lot, the bar hides the field so all you can see are the lights of the game. Inside the bar you can hear the DJ playing music and people screaming. It’s a festive atmosphere filled with fans of the game. We can’t wait to walk in.

As soon as we open the doors we’re greeted by familiar faces. It’s like a reunion every time you step foot in this place. There are people running around in the bar asking for autographs on their shirts so they can win prizes. There is one fellow dancing on the bar doing the sprinkler (I can’t remember his name), and there is a huge set of windows, almost acting like a television screen. On TV this night is Men’s Fastpitch softball. What a show.

The Boys of summer not only brings together a great set of teams, they bring a great atmosphere that reminds us why we play. The fans here are very knowledgeable. Outside the bar is where the veterans usually sit. There is a wooden deck that attaches to the bar and serves as almost a VIP section. As you walk down the steps there is limited bleacher seating on both first and third base lines. This is the only real problem with the tourney. To watch the game you need to have prime seating as the views aren’t very good from the right field lines. There is plenty of space in the outfield but it seems to distance you from the beer and food. Nobody wants that!

Although the crowd didn’t come through like they did in Monkton, the Boys of Summer definitely made up for it with a great place to be. The beer was cheap and they had a large selection of bar food to choose from. No, you’re not gonna find any Weight Watchers entrees here but you will find a good time. In all reality, you don’t have to leave the park until it’s time to sleep. You can dance, and watch softball at the same time. What else do you need? I give it a thumbs up.       

Well, the Monkton Tournament is over and the world of ISC Fastpitch is now in an uproar as the SoCal Bombers have come out on top. It not only has shaken the rankings but put another team in contention to win the big boy. This year could possibly be the best in several years when it comes to competition. There is no mighty County Materials to deal with. Instead….a field of teams that all have a shot to make waves.
I’m not here to talk about the teams though. I’m here to talk about the tournaments and the host cities in which they are played. In a several part series, diamondballers.com will take a look at the tournaments around the fastpitch world to find out what tournament has the best action.
Beer/Alcohol/Food
Our first look will be at the Monkton World Fastball Invitational. Monkton proved to be a great place for fastball as there were fans from all over attending the four day event. On any given night you could have around 500-1500 in attendance….most of which were crowded around the massive and I mean massive beer tent. The tent, which may have been provided by a circus, was around 100 feet long and 50 feet wide. There were picnic tables all over under the tent as well as all over the restricted drinking area which was located on the left field line. From pretty much everywhere in the beer tent and drinking area you could see a little bit of the game. There were prime seats along the line that proved to be the best areas to watch the game. The tent sold one type of beer and also made mixed drinks. One drawback to the tent was the price of cold brew. $3.50 for one beer is a bit expensive for a 12oz. beer at a softball tournament. By the looks of things and the way I felt on Saturday morning, it didn’t seem to bother anyone. There were a lot of people partying and having fun down there. Good business decision then. Past the beer tent was a big eating area in the left field corner. The food was priced perfectly helping ease the pain of the $3.50 beer. There was nothing special about what they were serving. The typical hot dog/hamburger etc. was on the menu. Overall I give the beer tent and food a thumbs up for a good crowd to drink with and good cold brew.
Fans
The Monkton crowd was awesome. There were always kids running around asking for autographs and always fans at the games. I think there may have been reserved seating in some spots as most people with the prime spots right around home plate left their chairs over night. Down the first base line there were a set of bleachers as well as a grandstand on the right field line. This area was typically full of people. In the outfield the fence was lined with lawn chairs and always full. There was one more grandstand in center field that usually had a decent amount of watchers. The crowd didn’t seem to have a favorite team although they seemed to have some favorite players that they rooted for. All-in-all they were good to be around and seemed to have a genuine knowledge and love for the game. I give them a thumbs up.
Teams
Come on. This is one of the biggest tournaments of the year with seven top ten teams lacing it up to battle for a nice prize package. ISC ranked teams number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 were in attendance. Nuff said. Thumbs up.
Nightlife and City
Monkton is NOT a city. It is a VILLAGE. This was one drawback to the tourney. Teams had to drive a little bit to get to their hotels. Some teams drove up to thirty minutes for a hotel. Not that big of a deal though. As for nightlife, there wasn’t much real action going on in the towns that we visited. There were your typical dive bars but that’s it. Not much for dancing but some Karaoke was definitely available. Crabby Joe’s Restaurant seemed to be the best place to eat in both Stratford and Listowel.
Thumbs Up
This was a great tourney with a big time atmosphere. I can see the ISC tournament being played here as the ever shrinking field of teams continues to drop. The ISC will only need one field and Monkton could be the place to host the big dance. Our next tournament review will come from the Boys of Summer in Denmark, Wisconsin.