All this week, people have been struggling to put into words the deeper meaning of the Honolulu Little League team’s win of the World Series. Or not so much their win, but their work ethic and esprit de corps. Even before they won the final game, as the team steadily progressed through the tournament, broadcasters and sports journalists reached for words to describe the sunshine bouncing off their shoulders, the bear-hug greetings they gave surprised opponents and the way they seemed to wear their excellence with the ease of a comfy T-shirt rather than the bravado of a cape or a crown.
Often the phrase “aloha spirit” was employed as an umbrella term. Of course it’s a perfect phrase, though the term has been watered down in common usage to small acts like taking in your neighbor’s garbage can or flashing a shaka when someone lets you into a lane of traffic. This team showed aloha spirit as something much more expansive and lofty, something difficult to put into words.
Their manager, Gerald Oda, went back to the same phrases when speaking about his team and to the boys: “Humble, guys. Humble.”
Humility, defined as a modest or low view about one’s importance, is a strange dinner guest at a feast of champions. It’s hard to comprehend training to compete for best in the world while holding firm the idea that you are not better than everyone else.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell brought back an old-school word to try to describe the Little Leaguers: “I think they exhibited the best values that we were taught by our parents and grandparents about being humble. You know, as a community, we don’t do ‘tantaran.’ We give credit to everybody,” Caldwell said at the airport gathering when the team came home.
At that same event, when searching for the highest compliment for the team, Gov. David Ige reached for his own campaign slogan: “I’m just so proud to be governor of the state of Hawaii because it’s not only the fact that you are the best in the world, but how you did it — truly the commitment to the team, the commitment to helping each other be successful, and doing it, uh, in the right way for the right reasons.”
Then there was Kauai mayor Bernard Carvalho, who probably got closest in defining the team’s ethos by breaking down the word “aloha” and connecting it to a competitive attitude.
“A, akahai. Kindness. They played hard but they were kind. L, lokahi. Unity. They stand united no matter what. O, oluolu. Agreeable. They agree to disagree, because we won, OK? H, ha‘aha‘a. Humility and humbleness. Oh my God, how much humbleness and humility, but they played hard. And the last one, ahanui. Patience. Very patient, but we won! Yes!”
This team offered a tangible reminder that aloha spirit works comfortably alongside ambition and competitiveness, and how, like Hawaii’s Duke Kahanamoku decades ago, it is possible to be world champions and exceptionally nice guys.
Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
