Emory Softball Team Shares South American Cultural Experiences

Written by Sophomore Infielder Claire Bailey

The Emory University softball team spent two weeks this past Winter Break touring up and down Chile and Argentina. I can safely say that it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. We were very active the entire trip - between spending New Years in downtown Santiago, zip-lining in Puerto Varas with volcanoes in the background, and taking professional tango lessons, we still managed to play games in Buenos Aires. Thus, we were able to experience the familiar sport of softball in a setting which has changed our perception of the game forever.

Coming from someone who never learned one ounce of Spanish and whose vocabulary consisted of merely “no hablo español,” I personally experienced quite a culture shock. Our tour guide Maria told us from day one, “There is no personal space in Argentina.” This ended up being one hundred percent accurate. The locals, even grown men, greeted each other with an embrace and a kiss on the cheek. Also, the daily routine in South America threw me off entirely: there was an actual siesta every afternoon from approximately 2:00 to 5:00, resulting in a dinner time of 9:00 or 10:00. This was fascinating, not to mention absolutely fantastic.

We played the games at the very end of our trip—two days before we were scheduled to leave. We had no idea what to expect when our tour bus pulled up to the field. Our imaginations settled on visions of a facility lacking dugouts, a weed-infested infield, and an endless outfield without a fence. However, we were pleasantly proven wrong. Although we found several rocks scattered throughout the dirt and divots in the outfield, and despite the bases being completely unattached to the ground (resulting endless entertainment when several teammates wiped out while attempting to beat out a grounder), the field surpassed our expectations. There was even an Argentina and United States flag hung on the fence in centerfield.

Our opponents were an Argentinian club team named “Halcones,” which is the Spanish word for “falcons.” The players ranged from preadolescent girls to moms, age 14 to 40. In fact, the first baseman’s daughter was our bat girl. Two players were members of the junior national team and had recently returned from the Pan Am games in South Africa. And we faced a pitcher who had not pitched in 20 years, but received a call that morning that the team could use an extra pitcher and would she like to come help them out? That alone was enough to inspire awe in us.

We ended up beating them pretty badly, somewhere along the lines of 15-0. But honestly, I couldn’t tell you the score. It didn’t take us long to realize that the score was irrelevant. Here we were in South America, getting the chance to play a sport we love. Who cared who won? This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we were soaking it in. Of course, our coach made sure we seized this opportunity to focus on the little things and sharpen our techniques, but we didn’t lose sight of the big picture.

After the game we shook hands—the universal sign of' camaraderie and respect between athletes (I quickly found out that “bien partido”—“good game”—was quite a mouthful to say for each high five). Finally we got to mingle with their players, and in spite of having to overcome a language barrier and being complete strangers, our interaction with them ended up being effortless.

In one of the most momentous events of the day, the Halcones’ coach passed around tereré, which is a traditional drink of Argentina that best resembles cold herbal tea. In Argentinian culture, those who share tereré join in a social bond of total acceptance and friendship. I’m sure we are still incapable of fully understanding the significance of this seemingly casual gesture of reception, but this effectively united our teams in a common sense of sportsmanship and love for the game of softball.

Several of my teammates and I chatted for a while with one Argentinian player in particular who spoke English relatively well. She told us that she left at 5:30 that morning to make it to the field in time for our game. Since she didn’t own a car, she explained, she was forced to travel via train and several buses. Hearing her describe these hardships nonchalantly made us realize how much we take for granted. This girl was dedicated enough to commit five hours just to transportation in order to come out and play us. And to think we had always complained about our early morning lifting sessions which were only a walk away.

It really put things in perspective because we are used to having resources at the tips of our fingers: our field is just across campus, our bats are provided by sponsors, and there is always a sporting goods store nearby in case we need a new glove. In contrast, many of the Argentinian girls were wearing what barely qualified as cleats, none of which had metal spikes. As cliché as this may sound, these girls—these women—played solely for the love of the game, regardless of the availability or quality of their equipment.

Every local Argentinian who inquired about what sport we play would hear our answer and immediately respond with, “Um, what is softball?” In this soccer-dominated country, baseball is only beginning to gain popularity, and softball is practically unheard of. There is little to no support for girls who choose softball as their main sport, since there are no university teams and certainly no professional league. And yet, every one of the girls on this club team were willing to come out and play on a random weekend, and better yet maintain a positive and enthusiastic attitude despite losing by a wide margin. If that’s not a testament to their passion for the game, I don’t know what is.

Our small post-game ceremony consisted of an exchange of words and mementos between teams. The Halcones coach expressed (through a translator) his gratitude that we came all this way to play them. He described how softball has been an integral part of his family for a long time, and he appealed to all of us to help preserve the spirit of softball. He clearly stated that his number one goal is to spread the love of the game and promote softball worldwide by getting it back in the Olympics.

The dedication and pure passion for the game displayed by the Argentinian team really hit home with each of us. It made us remember the reason we started playing softball and realize that we had forgotten why we fell in love with it in the first place. The game of softball was enough to bring together two entirely different and unlikely groups of women and create a bond of mutual friendship and respect. Believe me when I say that this trip permanently impacted my life; I will forever carry this appreciation for the undeniably power of sports across cultures, across nations, and across the world.