Orange slices and boxed drinks

CHRIS YEMMA

Saturdays -- known for college football, playoff baseball right now,

barbecues and the occasional high school football game.

USC vs. Cal, Texas vs. Oklahoma, Cards vs. Dodgers, Yankees and

Twins ... on and on again. And, of course, the Pink Puppies vs. the

Lady Bugs.

The what? Pardon?

Did they finally get that expansion football team in L.A.? And

they also got one in Anaheim?

No sir, this is bigger than the pros. This is the sports day that

every little kid and parent lives for, the big tamale, if you will --

and it’s not just because of the oranges and boxed drinks at the end.

This is the sporting event day that features could-be champions,

someday Olympians, eventual World Cup prospects, and it’s all in the

perfect element. The element, that is, of the pre-snooty era, except

for the occasional runny nose.

“I scored my first goal today,” Pink Puppies’ Lauren Solaas said,

and it doesn’t get any better than that. The first goal of the season

for the eventual MLS superstar.

In the days of kids going on the D.L. from thumb and forefinger

injuries due to video game overexertion, these kids are out every

Saturday playing their soccer games -- in real life.

Pink Puppies vs. Lady Bugs, Pink Power Flamingos vs. Shooting

Stars, Blue Cheetahs vs. Blue Dolphins, etc., etc., etc.

These are the types of teams, named by the players, that spring

into action on Saturdays and upon which young kids learn basic

sporting principles, such as competition, teamwork and fundamentals.

That’s the beauty of youth sports: there is a huge emphasis on

fundamentals. Fundamentals and teamwork are what win games, and both

seem to be diminishing in professional sports.

Did “The Dream Team” in Athens demonstrate teamwork or

fundamentals?

No, but Saturday the Pink Puppies sure did. They won, and so did

the other team. Now what professional sport can you have two winners?

The Pink Puppies and the Lady Bugs both won in a head-to-head game

in AYSO Region 57 girls under-7 play, with scorers from the Bugs

(Kelly Tam, Caroline Bethel) and scorers from the Pups (Solaas,

Kristin Saroyan, Alyssa Anderson) rocketing in shots in the final

seconds to propel both teams to victory and improve their records to

perfect and perfect, with five wins apiece and zero losses.

There are no losers in youth sports. Of course, under a certain

age they don’t keep score, but that’s a separate issue.

And the rivalries are intense. The Pups’ and the Bugs’ coaches

have been coaching against each other for going on five years. One

went to USC -- Pups’ Coach Todd Anderson -- and the other UCLA --

Bugs’ Coach Jeff Bethel.

It doesn’t get any bigger than that. The USC Puppies and the UCLA

Lady Bugs. So far, in five years, the Bugs and Pups hold a five-game

win streak over each other, with each team looking to add to that

streak every year.

So, as the day nears its end, and as Anderson yells at his team

from the sideline in a Pete Carol-ish type of way, and Bethel coaches

from his sideline, in a Karl Dorrell-ish manner, both teams walk off

the field winners and partake in the winners prize -- orange slices

and boxed drinks.