One vote against the parade for Taney Dragons

So much for the clout of the Heron's Nest.

As readers of this blog - yeah, both of them, not counting my wife - know, in this space yesterday I indicated I did not think it was a great idea for the city of Philadelphia to throw a parade for the kids from the Taney Dragons Little League team.

Of course, city officials yesterday promptly announced they would do just that.

Guess what? I still don't think it's a good idea.

Again, let me stress this. I love the Taney Dragons story. Mo'ne Davis and her teammates provided the perfect tonic at a time when the region and nation were beset with bad news.

I even editorialized on the lesson that could be learned from this racially diverse group of kids in light of the unrest that seized Ferguson, Missouri, and the national spotlight.

But the fact is that after Mo'ne appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated for doing something no other girl has ever done, namely throw a shutout in the Little League World Series, they didn't win another game.

Now I know that this is not just about winning. That's why I was all in favor of the nice homecoming celebration the city threw for the team on Sunday.

That apparently was not enough.

This smacks of the kind of thinking that demands every kid get a trophy. They don't. That's not the way the world works. That's why we keep score, why there are winners and losers.

The sooner kids learn that lesson, the better off they'll be.

The tradition of a parade should be reserved for a championship. That doesn't mean we're not enormously proud of what the Taney kids accomplished. We are.

After rushing up the Jersey Turnpike for an appearance on the 'Today' show Monday morning, the kids will be back in Philly and feted with a parade from Center City to a park in South Philly on Wednesday. They also will be honored before that night's Phillies game.

In the meantime, the kids from Broomall-Newtown have been going about their business in relative anonymity on the way to capturing the national Babe Ruth 3 Prep World Series. They took the title last week in Glen Allen, Va. Here's some background on their amazing trek to a national title.

And they're not alone. The Broomall-Newtown 13-14 Babe Ruth team is also seeking a national title out in Washington state.