Pun intended. Athletes Unlimited is a whole new kind of sports league. Rather than build up teams and fan bases based on locations, Athletes Unlimited delivers the goods for a TV and Internet-based audience. It’s inaugural softball season is currently underway and this is easily the most fun I’ve ever had watching the sport. (And I’ve watched a lot of NCAA, Team USA, and NPF softball.)
Besides raising capital, I presume one of the trickier parts of launching a new sports league is growing an audience. As it turns out, “if you build it they will come” isn’t exactly the best marketing advice. This is where Athletes Unlimited appears to be rather clever.
Self described as a new way to play ball, Athletes Unlimited Softball is billed as: “Six weeks of nonstop action in the same city, where the teams change weekly and every play is an opportunity to win.” There’s also no coaches, a fascinating point system for individual performances and team wins, and six games played over the course of three days every week.
While all of that sounds cool on paper, it’s in the execution that Athletes Unlimited has really impressed me as both a fan and a viewer. Here’s why:
It’s a Great Game
56 Elite Players
This is not The Replacements. The Athletes Unlimited Softball league is stacked with notable names, both old and new including Cat Osterman, Aleshia Ocasio, Jessica Warren, Victoria Hayward, Haylie McCleney, Michelle Moultrie, both Pendley sisters, and more. Many of these players are set to play in the Olympics next summer with Team USA, Canada, Mexico, and Italy. These women are among the best of the best. See for yourself:
Interchangeable Teams + Live Weekly Drafts
Remember how exciting it was when the Avengers finally assembled? This is sort of like that. Not only is this already a really excellent collection of players, but each week the teams are redrawn so there’s numerous opportunities to see all of your favorite players either face off against each other or play on the same team. Plus, the drafts are streamed live on Facebook every Tuesday so fans get to watch the schoolyard picks go down in real time. It’s seriously awesome, and nerdy!
The Points System
Speaking of nerdy, Athletes Unlimited Softball is all about the numbers. Normal in-game scoring still applies, but players can earn individual points which counts towards their overall rankings, which in turn determine the weekly team captains. I also believe rankings will also have some sort of monetary value for the players at the end of the season. For those of us watching from the comfort of our couches, the points are cool because it keeps the level of intensity up regardless of the score. There’s been a few lopsided games, but players are still stealing bases and keeping the pedal to the metal to earn those individual points.
Here’s how it all works:
The Viewing Experience
Games are on ESPN and CBS Sports
All of the Athletes Unlimited Softball games are televised or streamed live on either CBS Sports or one of the ESPN channels. I cannot stress enough how amazing this is. Literally I can just turn on my TV or launch one of the respective apps and tune in to some softball. Athletes Unlimited also made agreements with MSG Networks, NESN, and Altitude Sports to re-air games, which is a nice touch too.
I wish this were the norm for women’s sports leagues, but sadly it’s still not. If games are being broadcast, which is already a big IF, they are typically hard to find, relegated to weird streaming platforms, and/or hidden behind paywalls. For example, the NWSL has partnered in the past with the “popular” sites such as go90 and Yahoo!. And at one point they also had select games airing on Saturday afternoons on Lifetime, which is not the most obvious place to find live sports. Meanwhile the NPF has had deals with the Olympic Channel, good luck finding that on your TV guide, and the niche streaming service Bleacher Report Live (B/R Live).
It seems obvious, but mainstream exposure for both the sport and the league is a big win for all parties involved.
Quality Broadcast Elements
Not only are the games televised and streamed, but real care was obviously taken to provide a quality broadcast too. They didn’t just set up a wide angle camera in the outfield and walk away. The production is first-rate with multiple camera angles, mic’d up players, replay plus challenges, “sideline” interviews, and stats and graphics galore. Not gonna lie, I was giddy the first time they showed us a spray chart of the previous weekends homerun locations. I know all of this sounds par for the course if you were to tune into an MLB game, but once again these elements are not always the norm when you’re watching a game from an upstart women’s league.
Veteran Broadcasters
The broadcasts don’t just look good, they sound good too. And believe me, as a fan, that’s really important. Nothing kills the mood quite like having a commentator that sounds like they were literally pulled off the street and witnessing a sport for the first time. Thankfully Athletes Unlimited Softball scored big by getting some highly qualified individuals in the booth with Eric Collins doing play-by-play and Danielle Lawrie providing color commentary.
For those of you who don’t recognize their names, or voices, Eric Collins has been calling women’s softball games at the collegiate, professional, and international level for well over a decade and Danielle Lawrie pitches for Team Canada, won an NCAA championship with the University of Washington in 2009, played in the NFP for 5 years, and has been doing the broadcast thing for a while now too. The experience and insight they bring to each game is invaluable. As a huge softball fan I appreciate hearing familiar voices, ones who are both knowledgeable and passionate about the sport.
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If the opportunity were to arise in the future I’d love to attend one of these games in person. There’s something special about sitting in the stands of a ballpark. But in the meantime I really appreciate the attention to detail that Athletes Unlimited has put into packaging these softball games for audiences at home. The viewing experience has been nothing short of top-notch. I really dig what Athletes Unlimited is doing and hope this league has long term success because I love getting to see softball like this.
Click to see the schedule: https://auprosports.com/softball/schedule/
