Hawaii just beat Curacao in extra innings to win the Little League World Series!!!!
Hawaii was down 6 to 3 coming in to the bottom of the sixth and final inning, but then tied it up to put the game into extra innings for the first time since 1971. In the bottom of the seventh, Michael Mamea scored a walk off solo home run to win the series for Hawaii and the U.S.
I grew up in Hawaii so I have a real soft spot for Hawaii teams. But this team was special.
These boys are from Ewa (pronounced "Eva") Beach, a dusty red dirt rural community on Oahu miles and lifesyles away from the glitz of downtown Honolulu. Most of the people who live there children and grandchildren of sugar workers or more recent immigrants from Asia and the South Pacific.
Judging from the names, the stars the Ewa Beach team are Samoan (Fe'ao), Hawaiian (Mamea), Filipino (Agilpay, Baniaga). All of the boys (save for one "haole" (white) kid) seem to be some mixed up "local" (as they say in Hawaii) extraction.
The reason I mention this is because all of the other US teams in the world series tournament had a decidedly white cast. I watched three or four games among US teams and I don't recall a single non-white player.
I was disturbed by the lack of diversity I saw in the US teams. Was this a fluke? Does little league do anything to address diversity?