In 1990, I started playing Tee Ball along with many of my friends in Maywood, IL. Chip started the league, it felt like a dream. His dream and the hard work & dedication that the dads, mothers, parents, families, brothers, friends, park district and village accepted.
It was so much comradery! Everyone knew each other therefore when you would see one another at Sykes', Wades', the gas station, Doc's, Aldi's, Al's, Try Me, Church, Super K-Mart, etc. It was respectful; referring to the way the youth treated their elders. Fast forward to now... there are no sports. The park district & village don't see eye to eye. So the crew that owns the teams & the crew that owns the parks are clashing. Don't worry they don't give a fuck about the kids aka the youth aka the future because its too much work, effort and too much like right to get along.
Empty parks on Fridays, Saturday & Sundays, that's some of the most hurtful shit to see in my eyes. I'm a product of the park, a product of being outside, a product of getting dirty, having fun and smelling like a wet dog. Dreams, rivalries, bonds, love, character, H.O.P.E and foundations are brewed on days like that, even the so-called bad guys come out to support their younger siblings. I can't count how many dudes have received a scholarship offer in my generation from the neighborhoods. Of course not everyone is blessed to excel in athletics but focus on how sports builds one morale, sense of mission, awareness of group compatibility, goal-setting and respect. You don't even have to make it to the professional rankings to get paid, its all about giving someone a chance... to take it one more step further.
I'm hurt because there is no Little League & the reason why there is no football, baseball, football, cheerleading, track & field, arts & crafts and things of that nature for the kids. Everybody says the kids so damn bad and their getting worse... shhhhiit give these lil bad ass muthaF***as some'n to do!
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It was so much comradery! Everyone knew each other therefore when you would see one another at Sykes', Wades', the gas station, Doc's, Aldi's, Al's, Try Me, Church, Super K-Mart, etc. It was respectful; referring to the way the youth treated their elders. Fast forward to now... there are no sports. The park district & village don't see eye to eye. So the crew that owns the teams & the crew that owns the parks are clashing. Don't worry they don't give a fuck about the kids aka the youth aka the future because its too much work, effort and too much like right to get along.
Empty parks on Fridays, Saturday & Sundays, that's some of the most hurtful shit to see in my eyes. I'm a product of the park, a product of being outside, a product of getting dirty, having fun and smelling like a wet dog. Dreams, rivalries, bonds, love, character, H.O.P.E and foundations are brewed on days like that, even the so-called bad guys come out to support their younger siblings. I can't count how many dudes have received a scholarship offer in my generation from the neighborhoods. Of course not everyone is blessed to excel in athletics but focus on how sports builds one morale, sense of mission, awareness of group compatibility, goal-setting and respect. You don't even have to make it to the professional rankings to get paid, its all about giving someone a chance... to take it one more step further.
I'm hurt because there is no Little League & the reason why there is no football, baseball, football, cheerleading, track & field, arts & crafts and things of that nature for the kids. Everybody says the kids so damn bad and their getting worse... shhhhiit give these lil bad ass muthaF***as some'n to do!
I'll do my part very soon... let this picture marinate.
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