A League Of Their Own premiered on Amazon Prime on Friday, August 12, 2022 and my life has been a whirlwind ever since. Having gotten to go to Amazon’s premiere in Rockford and having gotten to talk to some of the creators, I knew this show was going to be special, but I really didn’t truly grasp how special until I got to see it in its entirety.
Now, for those of you who loved the original (who didn’t?), this isn’t that generation’s story at all. It dives into stories that couldn’t be told at the time the film was released in 1992, but don’t let anyone tell you it isn’t true. The International Women’s Baseball Center and the show’s researchers made sure these stories were based on authentic experiences, and, I think, that’s what makes it so amazing, as it tells stories we often don’t hear from a perspective that doesn’t always spell tragedy.
Knowing this and wanting to commune with the queer community as I have for many other queer shows, I decided to host a Live Tweeting event on the day of the premiere, and it was unfathomable how great that turned out being. It led to an interview with a Rockford Sports Anchor that really seemed to understand the importance the show was going to have, and I got to see how people I have created community with online through other shows reacted to something so deeply personal to me. I mean, I have made my life as much about women’s baseball as I can.
Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone agrees with us that this is an authentic story, so there were plenty of trolls. And, in trying to help people know that ratings had been being tanked on purpose, I got my fair share of them too. And, I don’t deal with confrontation well, but I think I did the best that I could, and actively tried not to engage.
Finally, the experience made me feel seen in a very special way. I knew there would be celebrations of queer and Black stories, but I wasn’t expecting the queer Black stories that we got, and I definitely wasn’t expecting a transmasc character living his best life in the 1940s. Seeing that really helped me feel more confident about my decisions to live more authentically as myself in recent years, and I really hope we get to see this story play out more. I know the International Women’s Baseball Center, and myself, will do all that we can to further support the beautiful stories that many of us never thought we’d see play out on a screen.
Raven K 