9-year-old girl gets Chuck E Cheese to change arcade game's 'There's always softball' taunt

"You are brave. You are courageous. You are a game-changer."

WLS logo
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Naperville girl gets Chuck E Cheese to change game
A 9-year-old girl from southwest suburban Naperville recently got Chuck E. Cheese to make a change to one of their games, and got a special message from an Olympic champion.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- A 9-year-old girl from Illinois got Chuck E. Cheese to make a change to one of its games.

Marie Marcum was playing a Major League Baseball-licensed game when it taunted her for missing a target, saying, "Hey, there's always softball!"

Marie wasn't having that. So she wrote to the restaurant chain and the MLB, asking them to change the audio - and they did! The game was muted across the country until the audio was replaced the next week.

Chuck E. Cheese threw Marie and her softball team a party to celebrate the achievement. She was one of the first kids to try out the new game.

During the party, Marie got to watch a surprise message from Olympic champion and professional softball player Jennie Finch.

"I just want to say thank you for being an inspiration to us all. Thank you for using your voice, for sticking up for what is right, and taking a stand with your feelings and your thoughts and writing that letter," Finch said, in part. "You are brave. You are courageous. You are a game-changer."

Finch also invited Marie and a friend to attend her softball camp this summer in St. Louis.

Way to go, Marie!

Copyright © 2024 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.