4 | JULY 25 • 2024 

from the executive director
How the Maccabi Games Changed My Life
W

elcome to Motown, 
Maccabi Games 
participants! I am 
so excited for you to have the 
experience that awaits you this 
week. Whether you are an ath-
lete or a star reporter, you are 
about to make 
memories that 
will last a life-
time. 
Perhaps that 
sounds like cliche 
or hyperbole, 
but I speak from 
experience. It is 
hard to believe that, exactly 34 
years ago, I was in your shoes. 
Little did I know that one short 
week would completely alter my 
life and the people who would 
play important roles in it. 
In the late spring of 1990, 
my parents encouraged me to 
try out for the North America 
Maccabi Youth Games, which 
were taking place in Detroit 
that summer. I was a little 
lukewarm about the prospect; I 
did not know much about the 
Games — only that they were 
the Jewish youth Olympics. 
However, I was a pretty good 
softball player at the time and 
opted to give it a shot. 
I was happy that I was one of 
the few selected for the lineup, 
albeit apprehensive. The softball 
team was composed of players 
from all over the Metro Detroit 
area, few of whom I knew. I was 
a bit socially awkward in those 
days, and I did not know if I 
would connect with these girls 
who all seemed to know each 
other already. 
Over the next few months, I 
practiced with my new team-
mates and started to build rela-
tionships with some of them, 
but I still did not grasp in these 
early days that several would 
become lifelong friends. 
On Aug. 19, I lined up with 

my teammates outside of the 
Palace of Auburn Hills for the 
Opening Ceremony and, for 
the first time, I glimpsed the 
enormity of what I was about 
to experience. I assumed there 
would be athletes from around 
North America, but here I was 
surrounded by literally thou-
sands of kids and coaches from 
all over the USA and the world! 
There were delegates from 
states like Texas, California, 
Maryland, New York, New 
Jersey and Massachusetts, as 
well as international delegates 
from Mexico, Venezuela, 
Canada, England, Australia and 
Israel, to name a few. 
The atmosphere was electric 
as my teammates and I mingled 
with other athletes. When we 
finally walked into the Palace 
for the parade of athletes, the 
stadium erupted in cheers from 
thousands of spectators there 
to celebrate the Maccabi Youth 
Games and cheer us on.
The next day, the softball 
tournament began. We played 
well and had a lot of fun, and 
at the end of the week we were 
awarded a bronze medal. There 
were only four teams, but, hey, 
at least we didn’t come in last! 
But, to be honest, I remem-
ber very little about the soft-
ball games themselves. For 
me, the tournament seemed 

almost beside the point. What I 
remember most from that week 
is the moments I shared with 
the people I met. I remember a 
handful of us from the Detroit 
softball team sitting in the out-
field chatting with a group of 
guys from the Chicago baseball 
team and, later, going to cheer 
them on during their playoff 
game. I remember the hilarious 
bus ride to the evening event 
at the Detroit Zoo. I remember 
trading pins, uniforms and 
addresses with delegates from 
other cities — contact informa-
tion that would be used to build 
pen pal relationships, many that 
would last for years. Keep in 
mind that this was pre-email, so 
that was a lot of work!
And I remember the bonds I 
built with my teammates. The 

laughter. The joy. The shared 
experience. 
Today, three of my closest 
friends — my chosen fami-
ly members — were on my 
Maccabi softball team. One was 
my freshman college roommate. 
Two would become my sorority 
sisters. We have all since made 
hundreds more special mem-
ories together. But those early 
ones during the Maccabi Games 
formed the foundation of life-
long friendships. 
Whether you come from 
near or far, and whether your 
focus is on the athletics or the 
people you meet — or some 
combination of the two — I 
hope your Maccabi experience 
is just as meaningful as mine 
was. Good luck and have an 
amazing week. 

Marni Raitt

PURELY COMMENTARY

Marni in 
the dugout 
during 
the 1990 
Maccabi 
Games, 
August 
1990

The 1990 Detroit girls’ softball team shows off their bronze 
medals, August 1990

Nichole (Rudolph) 
Kaploph, Marni Raitt 
and Dana (Lakritz) 
Marcus, August 1990

