The coming-of-age ritual is as old as civilization itself. Every culture has its unique marker for catapulting an adolescent boy into manhood.
The Sateré-Mawé use bullet ants, the Amish offer the Rumspringa, and of course there is the Jewish tradition of the bar mitzvah.
In America, there is also a grand, secular coming-of-age ritual that takes place from the ages of 10 to 12: Little League.
Nearly every young boy in America at one point or another plays a youth sport. These junior leagues serve as formative milestones in their development into manhood.
It is in Little League that values of sportsmanship, honor, and hard work are infused with the first taste of serious competition among peers. These American youths are run through an emotional and physical gauntlet of winning and losing, success and failure.
For those who persevere, glory, respect, and potentially lucrative NIL deals await. For those who quit, glory days are delayed while they learn to code.
Each summer, the Little League Baseball season culminates in the Little League World Series, held each August in Williamsport, Pa.
Teams are comprised of state All-Star teams of 12-year-olds, in their final season of Little League. The Little League World Series is the final celebration of boyhood, the final chapter of innocence, before the temptations of adulthood take hold.
Those sinful temptations occasionally enter the frame early, as they did when ESPN cameras broadcast a conversation between two teammates in the outfield seats, ebullient with enthusiasm for the subject matter on one young fellow's iPhone. The cameras paused on the young men as they laughed in awe.
Was it a highlight from a prior game? Perhaps a joke passed from another friend?
Nope.
As the young boy's phone turned to face the camera, it was clear that this kid and his buddy were not boys anymore. They were men.
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Boys being boys. pic.twitter.com/x7zBLqCXHb
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) August 26, 2021
Whether you call them boobs, jugs, cans, melons, milkers, heavies, floppers, breasteses, gazongas, warlocks, ta-tas, or sweater puppies, they are awesome wonders of nature. They also have the power to instantly turn a boy into a man with their wicked and tantalizing magic.
Proving that, despite the best efforts of the libs to mask, vax, confuse, and abuse our young men, they'll never succeed in killing the primal male spirit lurking in all boys, waiting for its chance to escape.
To these Little Leaguers of Williamsport, Pa., we honor you as 2021 Washington Free Beacon Men of the Year. Thanks for proving that not only are angels in the outfield real, they're often spectacular.
