Over the last week I had the fun opportunity to spend several days at the General Tires World Cup of Softball IX in Irvine, Calif.

There were exciting “walk-off” games as well as two-touchdown blowouts and—for those of us living in the USA—the result is what we wanted!

What was reinforced to me, though, about the greatness of softball and its athletes—be they playing in the World Cup, the NPF or the Womens’ College World Series—is the accessibility of the athletes and the friendliness and openness they have with the fans off the playing field.

There were autograph-signing sessions after games and each player, coach or USA Softball administrator took the time to smile and say hello. Simply, everyone I met was a great ambassador for the game.

In short, this week was another example of why I love this sport—the people.

Here are five dozen photos I shot to give a sense of the World Cup, not just the great play between the lines but of the environment that surrounded it…

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