News story

Doors Open to Mexico; Cities Welcome SSUSA Team

Oct. 1, 2008 – Senior Softball-USA

Softball News Report

VICTORIA, MEXICO – Mayor Arturo Navarro presented the key to his city and won the hearts of the USA Team here in August.

The historic tour was designed to open the door for an exchange of teams between the United States and Mexico, targeting four cities: Victoria, San Luis Potosi and Tampico in Mexico and Brownsville in the United States.

The cities welcomed Team USA with open arms – and very competitive Mexican senior teams.

Navarro, the young, and charismatic mayor of Victoria, not only presented the Key to the City of Victoria, but watched the games, presided at a special dinner for the teams and even invited the USA team to a mountaintop restaurant for a surprise send-off breakfast.

“We welcome our friends from the United States and look forward to opening the door to many more competitions,” Navarro said. “Please bring many more senior teams back to Victoria to sample our hospitality.”

In addition, Navarro said Victoria planned to send a senior team to compete in the World Championships in Phoenix this year.

In San Luis Potosi, the second city on the tour, the faculty of the University of San Luis put together two senior teams to compete with the US team. The games were played after an evening of regional music and dance at a beautiful open-air atrium at the university.

“The US team reminded us of how much fun playing quality softball can be,” said University Coordinator Mauro Saldierna. “We tend to take it too seriously and forget to have fun.”

At Tampico on the Gulf Coast, the final Mexican city on the tour, the Mexican and American teams had so much fun that they played an extra game far into the evening. After the game, the US team presented the club with equipment – including bats, balls, gloves and uniforms.

The next morning, the head of the club and his family met the US team’s departing bus with an armful of fresh pastries only made in Tampico – and with hugs – to complete a very warm sendoff.

The Mexican and US teams played both slow-pitch and modified softball games, with the Mexican teams generally winning the modified games and the US team winning the slow-pitch contests.

This inaugural tour was sponsored by SSUSA, ISA and the City of Brownsville.

“This is an historic event,” said Mariano “Bean” Ayala, president and CEO of the Brownsville Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It marks the opening of the door so that teams from both countries will have a chance to play softball against each other.”