They were losers. They lost. But in a twisting turn of events, they won.
In August, Mountain Ridge Little League from Las Vegas lost in a painfully close baseball game against a Cinderella team from Chicago, Jackie Robinson West.
The team was made up entirely of black players who banded together during their exciting run to claim victory over Mountain Ridge in the U.S. championship game.
However, it was revealed Wednesday that this Cinderella team from Chicago might have actually been better suited to play the part of the wicked stepmother.
Little League Baseball stripped the U.S. championship from Jackie Robinson West after it was determined the team’s manager and coach had recruited players who did not live in the geographic area assigned to the team. As a result, management was suspended and the Cinderella team the whole country had rooted for are champions no more. The clock struck midnight in Chicago.
That brings us to the question: Who is the new champion?
Mountain Ridge Little League deserved to win the U.S. championship.
They played by all the rules and used eligible players. They faced a super team in the championship game that never should have been allowed to form. Six months after a heartbreaking loss, Mountain Ridge received the title they should have won in the first place.
But the feeling will certainly not be the same.
There will be no victory parades or invitations to meet President Barack Obama at the White House. There will be no trophy presentation or interviews with Matt Lauer on the Today show.
Mountain Ridge won, but they lost.
For athletes — especially young athletes — winning is an experience like no other. If you win, you can brag to all your friends. You can post a photo with the trophy on Instagram and watch as it gets dozens of likes. These may seem like trivial things, but to young kids who still feel the need to be accepted by society and find their place, it means everything.
For the kids on the Jackie Robinson West team, this setback will be devastating. It was not their fault the adults — and I use that term loosely — chose to cheat instead of play by the same rules as everyone else. Those kids don’t deserve to be punished for something they had no control over.
For the players of Mountain Ridge, this “win” will not make up for months of wondering, “What if I had made that play?” or “How will we come back from this?” Win or lose, those kids can’t feel like they want that trophy when it has already been tainted by so much manipulation and lies.
It is a shame when cheating becomes a part of youth sports. But let’s face it — professional sports have not been setting good examples lately. I’m looking at you, Bill Belichick.
Because of this incident, the players of Jackie Robinson West Little League will have to constantly defend any success they achieve. They will continually pay for the actions of individuals who should not be allowed back into the sport.
In a similar way, the players of Mountain Ridge Little League will place a championship trophy in their trophy case they did not win by their own merit. Their team’s name might be engraved on it, but that trophy will be a constant reminder of their shortcomings against that Cinderella team from Chicago.
Being Mountain Ridge Little League in the coming months will be no fairy tale, but those kids deserve to know that, fairy tale or not, their story is not over.
Erica Brown is a UF journalism junior. Her column appears on Mondays.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 2/16/2015 under the headline “Being Mountain Ridge Little League: from loss to ‘win’"]
