LLWS takes things too seriosly

Does anyone really need the Little League World Series?
Oh, sure, ESPN needs it.
The event provides another opportunity to sell advertising.
But, really, does anyone else in the world need the Little League World Series?
Anyone who has ever been involved in youth sports — as a participant, a parent, a coach, an official or a team sponsor — will tell you the biggest problems arise when the people involved take it too seriously.
That’s when it moves from being fun for the kids to being stressful. That’s when parents find their inner demons and say — and do — things they’ll regret later.
And when it comes to taking things too seriously, the Little League World Series takes the cake.
Junior League baseball in Jay County — sometimes known unofficially as little league — has always struck us as one of the community’s great strengths.
The ball diamond, with appropriate adult supervision, became a place of teaching, of fun and of healthy competition. There was also an inter-generational aspect to it, with moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas passing along lessons to another generation.
That’s been true of T-ball, baseball and softball locally.
Even those teams formed for AAU or regional action seemed to have most of their priorities straight.
But how can youth baseball — or youth athletics of any form for that matter — make sense when national television networks are capturing and selling every second?
The short answer: It’s not possible.
What ESPN and all those involved are engaged in is child exploitation. They’re making a buck while the kids play a game that’s had all the fun sucked out of it.
Nothing said here can change that.
But the contrast with the games played in Portland and Dunkirk and Redkey and Fort Recovery is worth savoring. Our kids are having fun. Our kids are learning. And nobody’s making a buck off their backs. — J.R.

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