When one would mention the name Jackie Robinson West, they formerly wouldn’t give a second thought to it, but this past baseball season Jackie Robinson West was more than just a little league baseball team; they were a miracle.

After beating several of the top teams in the nation with massive leads and enough plays to make their own highlight reels, they started to catch the public eye’s attention.  Yes these boys were the first South Side team competing in the Little League World Series.  Yes these boys played outstanding, but what really sparked everyones love and interest for this team had nothing to do with the game itself, but the people and lives they were affecting.  Chicago is known as the “America’s Murder Capital” where every day gang fights and shootings occur.  There’s a constant stream of new homicide stories, and citizens, old and young, are always surrounded by criminal activity. It’s a scary place to drive through, let alone live through.  You’d think there’s no way out of this place; no way out of the crime lifestyle for those who live here, but you’d be wrong, and this is where the Jackie Robinson West little league team comes through.  The team represents hope.  It shows the young men living there that crime is not the only choice; that hard work and dedication can be a ticket out of the criminal lifestyle.  For some young men, seeing the Jackie Robinson West team succeeding, and seemingly achieving the impossible, gave them the push they needed to succeed as well.  This team may have changed the future for a kid heading in the wrong direction.  It may have given a kid hope that he was destined for something more than the streets.  I think it gave everyone in the community hope that maybe they weren’t always meant to be in the streets.  In addition to hope it gave Chicago peace. The games were played on big projector screens where hundreds of people gathered to cheer on their kids, their team, and their community.  For those hours while the game was on, people watched and celebrated instead of participating in illegal activity.The team brought the community together. Not just the people in vicinity to Jackie Robinson West, but the entire city of Chicago!   A parade in downtown Chicago was organized to honor their success and finally the entire city was united.  It was a great change of events that Chicago can be proud of, from constant violence to almost a surreal time of peace.  The Jackie Robinson West team accomplished something nobody else could do, create peace and hope for the south side Chicago suburbs, and that’s something that will live on forever and will change Chicago for the better.