<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge)

ADVERTISEMENT

CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, Copy editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

Congrats to all of our local athletes

So, we lost the Sonics. The Mariners are lousy, and the Seahawks may or may not have a great final season with retiring head coach Mike Holmgren.

It's hard to be a sports fan in Washington. Even at the college level -- whether you're a Cougar, a Husky or a Bull Dog -- some years are great and others not so much.

Perhaps it's a good time to honor the talented, and sometimes forgotten, athletes in our local communities -- the youngsters who make up our Little League teams, the swimmers, the gymnasts, the runners and so on. Parents dominate the cheering sections for these unsung heros, while the rest of us sports fans are watching the Ms or the Seahawks at home, screaming at our TVs and cursing the heavens.

It would have been no doubt more rewarding -- less taxing on our neighbors' and family members' eardrums -- to cheer the Mill Creek All-Stars through an amazing season all the way to the Little League World Series, which ramps up Aug. 16 in Williamsport, Pa. Their pitchers may stand short next to the Mariners' bullpen, but they can at least throw the ball over the plate and get through an inning without tossing to every batter in the opposing team's lineup.

Heading into Week 2 of the Olympic games, we around the world are engaged in the personal triumphs and heartbreaks of some of the greatest athletes in history -- the United States' Michael Phelps, China's Li Xiaopeng, Germany's 33-year-old gymnast Oksana Chusovitina.

Locally, Mountlake Terrace has its own track star -- Olympic pole vaulter Brad Walker -- to cheer for on the world stage.

These athletes invested their childhoods training, and few of them were likely praised or celebrated by anyone outside their circle of friends until they arrived at greatness.

Once upon a time Phelps was just some Peewee Football kid -- another youngster on the swim team, overlooked for more exciting events at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

We'd discover a lot of talent in our communities if we took the time to look.

Congratulations to the Mill Creek All-Stars, to Brad Walker, to all of our local athletes.