The overall popularity of any sport, at any level, can have its up and downs for any number of reasons. A strong case can be made that it is the casual fan of a sport or the fan that has an interest only because they currently know someone in the sport (at any level) that helps drive the popularity of the sport. Which is the same as saying the creation of the "causal fan" can indeed be at least part of the life blood of a sport or one of the driving forces to help the sport reach as high as it possibly can. Naturally this casual fan my be around for the short-term or long-term but the important aspect is the continuous creation of these casual fans. Of course there will always be the true fanatic (God luv'em), and the blowhards, and the "I can buy my child some talent", and the "mines bigger than yours" for the rest of us to laugh with or at. But in the end, Little League may have created (and continues to create) more of baseball's casual fans than any other org or activity. This includes both those that play and those that watch LL games. And if for nothing else, LL deserves a tip of the hat from anyone that cares or loves the sport of baseball.