| Little League World Series |
| The Little League World Series has started on ESPN. This is my favorite kind of baseball, little kids playing for the glory and the win. And when and if they lose, they forget about the loss and remember what a great time they had. The announcers’ voices are softer and gentler. The fans are family and parents that cheer like their team is in the MLB World Series and millions of dollars are on the line. Right now the team from Mobile, Alabama is mounting a comeback from a 7-1 deficit, and the team from Georgia is holding on to their lead for dear lives. I love major league baseball too. I am a serious Twins fan that lives and dies with every loss. That is, until the Little League World Series begins. Like children often do, they bring everything into perspective. The game is a game. The game is played from the heart. Your soul travels with the ball across the field, fluttering high or stopping with a run scored against you. There’s no shame in tears. There’s no shame in celebration. Children have that magic. They make the world reduce down to the essentials. Do I really care if I don’t have a Marc Jacobs bag? At times, I do a little, but not when I’m watching the LLWS. I love watching the kids from the U.S. and abroad work for that title. They get to know one another. They play with each other. They compete. They learn the lessons that life has to offer. It is about heart and never, ever giving up. It is about believing in your abilities, even when the outcome doesn’t match up to your expectations. It is about finding the deepest part of your soul and putting out there in everything you do. I will never forget the 2006 championship game where Columbus, GA beat Kawaguchi Little League of Japan. (Incidentally, Alabama just tied the game up. It is now 8-8 in the 4th.) The game was fantastic, full of excitement and drama. The final score was 2-1. But none of that really matters. What mattered was that the Columbus team would not take their victory lap without the Kawaguchi team. The Japanese boys were crying, still hurting from defeat, but running the field with the American boys. It was a sight to see. And it reminds us to take care of each other. Our nonprofit focuses on helping children realize their potential through the lessons learned in sport. Our dream is to bring a team from some little town on the far corner of the earth to play in the LLWS. Forget about winning and losing, it’s about giving them a chance to see something they never even dreamed and meeting children from the other corners of the world. I want to know Take Me Out to the Ballgame in 10 languages. I want to keep my heart out there in everything I do. Thank goodness for baseball. Thank goodness for the Little Leagues. |