The Parade
Little League starts
every year, at eight O’clock one April morning, with a big parade. A high school band leads, followed by teams marching
along; their colorful uniforms of red, blue, yellow, green white, and black.
The sponsors names on the back, it’s how they’re able to stay afloat. Some have
major league names like the Cubs, Yankees, Mets, Orioles, and Dodgers. Others
have something a little more pragmatic for their sponsors, such as:
Jack’s Tire Shop; Harry da Barber; Lilly’s Flower Shop; El Pollo Ma Mao; Vinnie’s
Pi; and Yasoo’s Diner are some I remember.
They start practicing
when the weather permits in March, sometimes it’s cold out there. But those
little tykes enjoy every minute of it. It’s where future Hall of Famers are born, but some parents have the notion their kid is
already in the majors. It’s supposed to be a fun team experience, to teach them
to get along with their peers. It does that! But, at times dads and moms get
in the way. When that occurs, it’s sad, the kids get humiliated, and sometimes
fights happen. Often over umpire calls, or a kid being pinched hit by another.
Anxious coaches who think they’re Billy Martin or Casey Stengel do dumb things to
win. They forget it’s not all about winning.
“Why’d ya take my kid
out, coach?”
“He cain’t hit, and
we gotta win, dude.”
“Ya moda efff!”
The fight starts,
parents from both sides jumped in to stop it, the wrong guy gets hit in the
nose, and it gets of out of hand. There was a league in Jersey
that banned parents from their games.
“It’s just not worth
it!” The director of the league was quoted in the paper.
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