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Player Kamalani Dung competes in Athletes Unlimited tournament in Illinois: "This is the future"
Photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images
Softball should actually be a really big number in the USA.
More than 1,100 universities operate a softball program, one of the most popular popular sports in the country.
The rules are similar to those in baseball, softball is almost exclusively played by women.
But while the male professional baseball league MLB is still very popular and commercially successful despite some problems, the softball players in the professional field have a hard time.
There is little attention.
The American company Athletes Unlimited now wants to change that - and is taking a radical approach.
The start-up has designed a tournament for the time when the athletes in their home clubs have no play.
The game is played for six weeks, without a coach, several games a week at a fixed location.
You have to imagine it like a world championship.
But the most serious change is that there are no permanent teams.
Can it work?
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The four best players of the week each put together their own team.
Seen here: Janie Reed (left) and Victoria Hayward
Photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images
Since the end of August and until Tuesday, 56 of the best softball players in the world have been playing against each other in Rosemont, Illinois.
Not in fixed teams, but in a new constellation every week.
In which exactly, the athletes decide for themselves.
The four best of them from the previous week select their team together.
There are points for team success, but also for individual performance.
The players, like the spectators, can vote and have a say in who is among the three best players.
The teams then play three games in the "everyone against everyone" mode, followed by a new election.
A little confusing?
"No," at least the Canadian softball player Victoria Hayward tells SPIEGEL.
The national player is one of the stars of the scene and actually plays for the Canadian Wild of Southern Illinois club.
But she says about the new competition concept: "This is the future."
At least for fringe sports like softball, which otherwise would never get the attention they deserve according to Hayward.
Women's sports should have a larger platform
Jon Patricoff is one of the founders of Athletes Unlimited.
He and his business partner Jonathan Soros want to give fringe and women's sports a bigger platform.
You just need new formats for that.
"There can be no change in the old structures," Patricoff told SPIEGEL.
But this is necessary.
"We see great growth potential in women's and fringe sports," says Patricoff.
The result is a concept that aims to open up a new group of people interested in sports.
"Fans are becoming more and more interested in individual athletes," says Patricoff.
Regional roots, on the other hand, would become less important.
And the shortening of a season to a few weeks makes Athletes Unlimited attractive, says Patricoff.
A forced departure from the usual mode was last seen in the football Champions League.
Due to the pandemic, the games had to be played in a short time from the middle of the round of 16 in a final tournament in Lisbon - and not as usual over several months.
Some observers found the new concept more attractive.
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Players at the tournament in Illinois: "The league is built around the principle that we love: team sport."
Photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images
Patricoff also believes his league can help empower women athletes.
The players should be involved in the league's development process and help improve the format.
The athletes do not have to fear being dismissed if they are criticized.
Layoffs or so-called trades, i.e. changes that usually occur in the traditional US leagues without the consent of the professionals, are not provided.
The commitment should also pay off financially.
The players get a minimum wage of $ 10,000 for the six weeks of the tournament - many get more.
Where is the team spirit?
Nonetheless, the concept raises questions: Where is the team spirit when the players are evaluated according to individual standards?
Don't the best players get better known while the weaker ones go under?
"When you hear about the league for the first time, you think it's very individual," says softball player Hayward, "but the league is built around the principle that we love: team sport."
Because without team success you have no chance of being one of the best players.
An important prerequisite is the approval of the home clubs.
In the USA, it is not uncommon for female athletes to appear for another team when they are not playing - often for financial reasons.
The German basketball player Satou Sabally from Dallas Wings, for example, plays for the top Turkish club Fenerbahce Istanbul when the professional league WNBA is not playing.
Such a procedure is unusual in Germany.
Among other things, because many top players in fringe sports cannot make a living from their sport, but pursue another profession.
The club structure in Germany is different
And there is possibly another reason why such a concept could not work in Germany: "In traditional fan circles that will be frowned upon," says fan researcher Harald Lange from the University of Würzburg to SPIEGEL.
The club structure in Europe cannot be compared with that in the USA, especially in Germany a very traditional club image prevails.
In America it is often a matter of pure commercial enterprises that sometimes change location for monetary reasons.
In Germany, on the other hand, clubs are often deeply rooted in their social environment.
Despite the differences, Lange believes that such a format could in principle also help fringe sports in this country.
The fan researcher believes that one can build a new basis that thinks more event-oriented and consumes sports via streaming portals.
But one thing is important.
"You have to take the fans seriously," says Lange.
The first few weeks went well for the pilot in the US.
Athletes Unlimited has TV deals with CBS and ESPN.
Sports greats such as NBA star Kevin Durant and ex-world soccer player Amy Wambach also support the athletes.
In workshops, for example, they give them tips on how to establish themselves as a brand.
The softball tournament ends on Tuesday.
But Athletes Unlimited has already planned the next project: a women's volleyball tournament.
The serve is in February 2021, according to their own information with 48 of the best players in the world.
After that, says Patricoff, it is conceivable for many other fringe sports.
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