A couple of weeks ago the final game of the Little League World Series was on ABC. The game featured the long haired, short-statured kids of Hawaii against the gigantic little-leaguers from Willemstad, Curacao. From start to finish, it was a dramatic affair, culminating in an extra-inning walk-off home run which brought the crown home to America for the first time in five years.

As I watched the prepubescent warriors struggle through pressure situations that even MJ couldn’t handle, I realized what a pleasure it is to watch good sports. No matter what the outcome, any true sports fan can appreciate the sheer magnitude of the situation and be grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it.

As I look back over my time at Garfield I realize that only two such sporting events have taken place and they were both last years tennis matches. Don’t get me wrong; I like to watch the football team get smashed 55 – 0 as much as the next kid. But how about we show the same spirit and loyalty to our victorious teams as we do to our perennially awful ones? I promise, time at the tennis courts would not be ill spent. As many of the team members readily point out, it’s a prime opportunity to see David Melman with his shirt off.

For those of you prude enough not to find that a sufficient reason to go to a match, tennis is plenty exciting on its own. It is fast-paced action that has little trouble holding the average observer’s attention. That, and the fact that they actually win. Their 19-match winning streak makes them one of the most successful high school sports teams of the last two years.

The team is fueled by the trio known as the Triple A Battery. Sr. Aron Shimeles, Jr. Avi Allison and Sr. Andrew Mulherkar are the only three players who returned from last year’s first place team. However, players such as Sr. David Melman and Jr. Kyle Johnson are eager to fill the holes in the team, which were left by the graduation of five seniors.

I am sure that most Garfield students didn’t watch the final game of the Little League World Series. It’s just not something that’s at the top of the summer to do list. But, my question is: why not?

There are so many die-hard sports fans that grace the halls of Garfield that would have enjoyed it. I guess they just don’t feel any connection to a group of kids too young to get into a PG-13 movie without parental supervision. This is a very valid point under the circumstances.

However, it does not apply to the several Garfield tennis matches which will take place at the beginning of this year. Of course, it is unlikely that you will all go flocking to every match and scream your heads off until you start drinking tea every night to sooth your raw throats. But it’s not unreasonable to ask that some of you go support the team, for at least one match, and raise last year’s non-family-member attendance to more than five people for an entire season. Come on! It’s ridiculous. After all… why not?