Now that you’re free from football season’s choke hold, it’s time to take some advice from Wu Tang Financial and diversify your bonds.
Your sports bonds that is.
There’s plenty of great smaller sports to choose from during the spring semester, but if you can check out just one, make it softball.
The games are quick — usually no more than two hours, Florida is one of the best teams in the country coming off of back-to-back Women’s College World Series, and Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium is a nice facility and a great place to hang out with a few friends and maybe even catch a few free T-shirts.
Slap hitting is the one part of the game I will probably never fully come around on, but luckily UF coach Tim Walton’s lineup is full of girls who dig their back foot into the dirt and blast home runs.
Francesca Enea, who is already Florida’s career home runs leader, Kelsey Bruder and Megan Bush combined for 50 homers last season.
Preston Tucker led the baseball team with 15 bombs a year ago, so not even three Preston Tuckers would outdo that trio.
Second baseman Aja Paculba has one of the best swings I’ve ever seen and brings a lot of excitement to the leadoff spot as she can steal a base, hit an opposite-field double or yank a homer at any time.
And if you appreciate good pitching, Stephanie Brombacher is taking over for Stacey Nelson this season in the circle. The junior is a perfect 42-0 with a no-hitter to her credit through her first two seasons.
No matter what you would like to see in a game, watching softball is often like taking all the best parts of a 210-minute baseball game and squeezing it into a 90-minute timeframe.
All the spring sports are a great change of pace, but softball is without a doubt my favorite.
Truth be told, you should probably take not only my advice and go to a softball game, but take Bob’s advice, too, and go to a gymnastics meet, especially if Georgia is in town.
After all, we’re trying to diversify. Remember?
