Thinking about Little League

There's been a lot of Little League baseball on ESPN lately. I enjoy watching it; seeing kids live out dreams is pretty cool.

Regional championships had been going on since Wednesday. The Little League World Series finals begin this Thursday, August 15, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the home of Little League. In many ways August has become my favorite baseball month simply because of League play. One day I think I'd like to spend the week of the Finals in Williamsport, just for the atmosphere. I might actually like that more than seeing March Grapefruit or Cactus League games at the big league level.

About the only tough thing about it is that I always feel bad for the kids who lose. There's no point playing the game if you aren't trying to win, yes, and there are lessons of grace and sportsmanship in losing. Still, they're kids. If you don't feel a bit bad you're kinda cold, I think.

At the end of the day it's just a game though. That may be the most important lesson they could learn. At the risk of appearing hypocritical I do wonder if playing such games to a national television audience is actually counterproductive: we make sports too important to kids still too young and impressionable to fully appreciate the big picture. That won't stop me from watching a lot of their games. I simply hope that in the long run it's a good, positive experience for all involved.