News & Features

Event Recap: Second Annual Summer Softball Showdown

The second annual Summer Softball Showdown took place at Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Park on Saturday, July 19. The inaugural event consisted of just the Sixers Dancers and Phillies Ball Girls, but expanded this year to a total of six Philadelphia sports franchises, including the Flyers Ice Girls, KiXX Dance Team, Soulmates and the Angels Dance Team (Wings).

In addition to the softball games and refreshments, there were auctions held throughout the day for items including an autographed Thaddeus Young authentic jersey, a Chase Utley signed lithograph and an autographed Jon Bon Jovi guitar. All proceeds benefited area charities through the Comcast-Spectacor Foundation, the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation and Phillies Charities.

“When you see the Sixers, the Flyers – all the sports teams that come out – that shows how tight this community is,” said Ukee Washington of CBS3 who stood in as a “Celebrity Coach” for the Sixers Dancers.

This special event went beyond just a regular game of softball. It was about reaching out to the community and interacting with the residents of the area.

“If we can do that and continue to do that, that makes this a better place to live and play for everybody,” said Washington.

In a first round match-up with the Soulmates, the Sixers Dancers looked to put up some runs in the early going. It was a hot day so Julie, a Sixers Dancer veteran, was nice enough to cool off her teammates throughout the course of the game.

“We had a lot of fun,” said Kate of the Sixers Dancers. “It was a little hot but thanks to Julie and her spray fan, we stayed cool.

“Hopefully we raised a lot of money for charity. It was a great event last year, we had fun, so we came back and we had a lot of fun today, too.”

Almost a week since the 2008-09 Sixers Dancers were formed, this event gave the girls an opportunity to create friendships and become more familiar with one another.

“It just further solidified the team, it really let us bond,” said Annie. “It taught us a lot about teamwork and just being there for each other. It made us even better friends than we already are.”

Today was not a day about statistics, scores or exciting plays. The event focused on entertainment and the fact that everyone was having a good time.

“Nobody knew what the score was; nobody knew how many hits anybody got; it was just the fact that they came together for a common cause and renewed some friendships,” said Washington.

Other media members that were in attendance as emcees, celebrity coaches and players included WMMR’s and the Sixers own Public Address Announcer Matt Cord, Don Bell from CBS3, Jon Marks from ESPN 950, Brian Startare from WIP and Marshal Harris from Comcast SportsNet to name a few.