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.
Michael Tika of WIFR sat down with me just before the premiere for this 815 Day spot.
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.
I was quite proud of this one, because it meant I wasn’t engaging with people unwilling to listen.
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.
It is not very often when you end up being excited that your original plans for a long weekend get changed, but I can honestly say that my trip to Rockford to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1992 release of the film A League Of Their Own was definitely one of those times, with a weekend full of activities, good people, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and, of course, women’s baseball.
A League Of Their Own released on July 1, 1992 and introduced the world at large to professional women’s baseball and the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. It also ended up putting Rockford, Illinois “on the map” in the baseball community, although the city has a long, proud history of baseball in its community. Therefore, when my July 4 plans fell through, it was no question about what I was going to do that weekend and quickly changed gears to join my colleagues at the International Women’s Baseball Center on putting on a magnificent event and enjoying some quality time with the community.
Friday, July 1
On the actual anniversary, there were two simultaneous events going on. I attended Friday Night Flix, an event put on in Davis Park by the Historic Coronado Theater, which was showing the original movie with several events for the kids. Representing the IWBC, I handed out special pennants to celebrate while getting to know the Chicago Blitz who were sat up next to me. The Chicago Blitz is a professional women’s football team that is hoping to make their home in Rockford, and they had a lot of fun showing kids how to run some drills.
Chicago Blitz helping young girls run through football drills.
Across the river from us, City Market full swing and leading up to the IWBC’s main event for the evening. City Market is a Friday evening event in the community, and the IWBC’s brand, SPoRT Makeup & SPoRT Apparel sets up weekly. This evening, though, it was all about the anniversary and it was right outside the fundraising event Sudz Bucket, also in honor of the movie. This event had players from the original League, Rockford bat girls, Megan Cavanaugh (who played Marla Hooch in the original movie), and tons of entertainment.
My evening ended with a late dinner with a few of the IWBC people, with a long Saturday planned ahead.
Saturday, July 2
While Friday had a light schedule, Saturday was packed full, from two events at Historic Beyer Stadium to an evening with Prime Video to premiere the pilot episode of their new show A League Of Their Own to introduce Rockford to a new generation (keep an eye out for this hitting Prime on August 12).
MLB Play Ball Staff, Maybelle Blair (AAGPBL player), and Megan Cavanaugh addressing the children of Rockford that came out to Historic Beyer Stadium for the event Saturday.
We started our morning early at Beyer to set up for MLB’s Play Ball event, which brought in approximately 125 kids to work on their baseball skills. Then, we ended our day at Beyer with a midday softball game and a group of food trucks outside the stadium to uplift the local eateries in Rockford. I got the honor of driving around several of our VIPs while there and getting introduced to new people from the Rockford community. Here I also ran into people I haven’t seen in years, and spent my afternoon catching up with them (instead of resting up for the long evening ahead).
Dr. Greta Rensenbrink, Dr. Kat Williams (IWBC President), and I on Prime Video’s “green carpet” for the Coronado Theater Premiere.
Saturday evening, Prime Video put on a street fair outside the Historic Coronado Theater to encourage the community to come check out the new show, which also premiered there. During this time, a small VIP event was also put on at the Coronado, where I was introduced to several community leaders in Rockford. As one of the newest Board Directors for the IWBC, I had heard about many of these people, but it was the first time I had gotten to meet many of them.The fair and showing was then followed by a sit down with the cast and creators, hosted by Megan Cavanagh. It was an experience to remember and I appreciate all the effort that went into planning it. I then got another amazing opportunity and ended my evening having wonderful conversations deep into the early morning with many of the Amazon people that were in Rockford for the event.
D’Arcy Carden, Chanté Adams, Abbi Jacobson, me, and Megan Cavanaugh after the Prime Video Premiere. Carden, Adams, and Jacobson are the main cast of the new show, and Megan was Marla Hooch in the original film.(Photo Credit: D’Arcy Carden)
Sunday, July 3
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and, after a late morning and brunch with some colleagues, I had to make the drive home. It reminded me of why working with the International Women’s Baseball Center is such a blessing and why it’s always hard to return. Have you ever come home from “coming home”? I am not from Rockford, or even Illinois, originally, but the community that I have gotten to interact with and the colleagues that I get to work with have always accepted me for exactly who I am. I haven’t been to Rockford since 2019 due to the last few years of chaos, and getting to see these people, catch up, enjoy baseball, and interact with so many in the community, it reminded me that I have always had a home there. So, until I get to come home again, Rockford, know that I’m thinking of you and all my wonderful, supportive, baseball family.
Raven K 