It’s that time of year again.

From the moments when the first float, the first high school marching band, the first visiting team passes us by in the Grand Slam Parade to when the last innings of the championship game are played, we are reminded how blessed our region is.

And how blessed we are for this annual opportunity to share Williamsport, Lycoming County and our parts of rural Pennsylvania with the world.

As we observed six years ago, “what happens here the next 12 days is still the best America has to offer.”

Or to put it into more detail and as we editorialized two years ago, if there is one thing we observe during the Little League World Series each year, “it’s that every team and every athlete embraces what Keith Oda described to the Sun-Gazette’s Chris Masse as a ‘we, not me’ mentality. … That’s what makes the athletes who have come to South Williamsport for these past two weeks all champions in a sense: the way they keep this sport and this yearly event grounded in the principles of teamwork.”

We all should be thankful to be able to come together these next two weeks to celebrate to victories of these young athletes and, more importantly, to celebrate the values of sportsmanship and teamwork. We should embrace the chance to show these teams and the world, watching from afar, how our communities respect these important values and traditions.

Our communities are truly blessed to get to host this event and to be a part of this magic every year.