They call it "The Little League World Series of Baseball", but I call it trying to get me to cry. Teams of ten year old boys from all over the world, and just as many teams from the United States play in Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the right to be crowned the world's best little league team...
(Insert Facepalm here)
I'm glad people are taking an interest in kids, promoting fitness, teamwork, sportsmanship, and the love of the game. However, I get more than a little upset about the annual questions coming out of this nationally televised event.
1) Why is there an American team in the final EVERY year? The LLWS has two "leagues" or conferences: American and International. While the best teams in the world face off against other young talents to see who is the best in their pool, all the American teams play in their league to see which the best/luckiest to play in the final.
2) How old is that kid anyway? There is always one tall, stubble-bearded, fantastic player from the darkest jungles of the world that takes the baseball world by storm. However, controversy surrounds that kid wherever he/she goes (See thirteen year old Danny Almonte in action)3) What's with the flagwaving? When the USA is in the final, you can guarantee biased reporting from broadcasters, "USA!" chanting up to high heaven, and the heavy burden of patriotism and national pride befallen on kids with more on their plate than the RAF during "the Blitz" combined.
4) World War 2 anyone? Nothing says "fate of the world at stake" quite like Americans playing and winning against a team from Japan.
5) Are you crying?! Two cameramen are responsible for locating, isolating, and zooming in on kids from the losing team crying their eyes out on the field after a big loss. Tsk tsk tsk, shame on you. Check out this replay from the 2005 LLWS between Ewa Beach, HI and Curacao if you don't believe me. Tom Hanks is losing his mind about what he is watching out there!
6) What do you mean there is no ice here? Count on two other things about this competition.
- Canada is in the competition
- Canada will find a way to lose the competition
According to the logic of the LLWS, I'm playing eight Canadian teams in the next Winter Olympic Games, because hockey is OUR game: Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Provinces, British Columbia, Alberta, Central Provinces, Territories, and First Nations. Come on, we do it in curling!I have many beefs, but this beef above all gets to me: Video Replay in the LLWS. Never mind the call, but do we need this in Little League? As if the fate of the world hangs in the balance when Little Leaguers, who can't even drive cars, get together for a game of baseball? Perish the thought of a child crying his eyes out at the end of a game because of a blown call; who knows, maybe he will never play baseball again? We can't have that! Give them instant replay! We must get things right for the kids, and while we are at it let's get rid of defeat and losing, because those things are wrong. Yes, let's make every game a tie game so that everyone wins, except for the winner.
It sounds like I'm harping on kids, but the fault is with us. We put too many high expectations on our kids, and when they fall short they crash and burn; in the case of LLWS, however, we get it on film. If the LLWS is a gimmick, then we don't need eight American teams, flagwaving exercises, intense close-ups of Mom and Dad in the stands when their boy goes to bat, and video replay for calls that matter less to a ten year old than bubble gum and bike rides in the park. However, if it is not a gimmick, and we NEED this REAL baseball to prove something, then it's time to turn off the cameras, sit down with our kids, and find out who we are and what is important in life. Otherwise, the LLWS is really for those who didn't make it, and now living out our hopes and dreams in those we raised to serve our purpose.
What would I do about the LLWS? Two things for starters really: Shut off the camera and let the kids play.
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