2002 Louisville Little League Champs Featured in Film on Netflix

Baseball was always on and celebrated in my house growing up. My Dad played through high school and considered it his "best sport." We had TBS on all the time because of the non-stop Atlanta Braves games and the Braves then weren't the Braves they became in the early-mid 1990s or even now.

We don't watch MLB much anymore. I only do if the St. Louis Cardinals make it to the postseason. However, I would still love to attend a game at the new Busch Stadium. I went to the old one twice. I still think it's cool when you watch all these superstars and think "They all once played little league".

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One team from Kentucky took the Little League World Series crown in 2002. The Valley Sports team from Louisville didn't have the easiest journey through the double-elimination bracket. In the US semifinals, Valley faced Fort Worth, TX and the game would go on to be one of the the longest in LLWS history. Valley defeated Sendai Higashi LL of Japan in the championship game.

On another note, Valley was 17-0 in state and US regional play on their way to the LLWS. They defeated Owensboro Southern twice in the Kentucky State Championship. Louisville represented the Great Lakes region. Owensboro Southern made their LLWS appearances in 2004 and 2005.

There is now a movie about the Fort Worth team's LLWS trip in You Gotta Believe.

Oh my gosh! Keep the tissues handy, and that's Hamilton "Ham" Porter (Patrick Renna) from The Sandlot. You Gotta Believe is now streaming on Netflix.

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Gallery Credit: Chadwick Benefield