The Little League World Series is a friendly reminder that winning is not, in fact, everything. It's about the kids and their experiences and sportsmanship, which has led to some terrific traditions being born along the way. One of those is players collecting dirt from the diamond to take home with them.
Mexico lost to Canada 6-4 on Monday, so the team continued its part in the tradition.
About 15 minutes after their #LLWS run came to an end, the kids from Team #Mexico gather some of the sacred dirt from here in #Williamsport to take with them. I’m not crying, you’re crying. #LLWSxESPN #LLWSxBeisjoven #LLWS2018 @LittleLeague pic.twitter.com/FjMBnSEOfk
— Sebastian Salazar (@SebiSalazarFUT) August 21, 2018
Other teams, of course, did their part to keep the tradition alive.
A Little League World Series tradition #SportsMatterMonday pic.twitter.com/ZtqsZ1gQqo
— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 20, 2018
The Little League World Series is the type of event where you just want everyone to win. However, these team take their losses in stride. Traditions like this show it's really about getting here and having the opportunity to play on such a big stage.
Indeed, just making it is a ridiculous feat. This year, for example, Mexico was represented by Matamoros A.C. out of Tamaulipas. They beat out two pools of teams to make it this far, but of course they'd have liked to go further.
Fans on Twitter were apparently inconsolable over the tradition -- perhaps even more so than the players themselves.
This makes my heart break. They played so hard. I love and hate this time of year
— Elvira & Jeff (@rojoandamarillo) August 21, 2018
I think we’re all crying.
— Nelson Moran (@nmoran00) August 21, 2018
💔
— Jan Sneed💜 (@JanSneed44) August 21, 2018
Even though it's heartbreaking to see, these kids are alright. If nothing else, they clearly seem to have their heads in the right space after the loss.