Although I’m not really a sports fan in real life, I will take a well-told and compelling sports drama any day. I mean, I’m one of the people who watched and loved ESPN’s Playmakers. Remember that? It was so good. I also watched and loved NBC’s Friday Night Lights. Hmmm. I’m noticing a pattern here. I think the reason I love football so much is because part of my formative years were spent in the South, where every single person spends every Friday night during the season at the high school stadium. Aren’t a football fan? Like that matters.
I’ve been to a few baseball games, but I don’t follow any particular team and would never call myself a fan. The reason I’m so excited about Pitch is because it’s something new. It elevates the genre with some great built-in conflict. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I wouldn’t watch any other sports drama. But the potential for conflict on so many fronts here makes this a must-watch show. But am I excited because a woman’s at the center of this show? Absolutely.
We’ve got a player who’s the first woman to ever be recruited by a professional sports team. That’s huge. I know there are so many talented women in sports in real life and hardly any of them get their due. But to put this woman into an arena that’s truly male dominated like major league baseball? I literally can’t wait to see that.
You know there’s gonna be drama for so many reasons. From the teaser alone, we can see she’ll have trouble with at least one of her teammates who feels like his job’s being taken away in the name of feminism. Or diversity. Or whatever. And what about all the other people around her? There’s a lot to lose if this doesn’t go well. Can you imagine the kind of pressure that would put on an athlete? It’s gotta be so difficult to be the first. But I can’t wait to see how this plays out.
Series synopsis, from FOX:
Pitch premieres this fall on FOX.
