RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Waipio Little League pitcher Kurt Tanabe got a warm welcome home from his mother, Bess, last night as the team returned to Honolulu.

Winning welcome

Exhausted from the trip,
the players get a boost
from family and fans
who packed the airport

---

By Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.com

They looked weary but managed to smile as the leis dropped around their necks and their families and friends cheered and screamed.

But as the Waipio Little Leaguers returned last night to a heroes' welcome at Honolulu Airport, their eyes had a look that seemed to say: We could have gone on. We could have won the whole thing.

"It felt good that we won but ... kinda disappointed that we didn't get to advance," said Travis Jones, who won two games with last-inning home runs.

"My arm's fine ... feels great," said pitcher Kurt Tanabe, who turned 13 last night. "We could have done it."

Waipio won its first game of the Little League World Series on Friday against a team from Worcester, Mass.; lost to a Fort Worth, Texas, team on Sunday; and then beat a Webb City, Mo., team. The 2-1 record left them in a three-way tie in their pool, but they were eliminated from the tournament because of a complicated tiebreaker system.

Returning home last night, the team endured delay after delay until their Delta flight finally touched down at about 8:40 p.m.

"We've been away for almost 24 hours. We left at about 3 in the morning and got in about 3 a.m. Williamsport (Pa.) time," said team manager Clyde Tanabe. "They're really tired right now ... but I think in their minds there will be a 'what if' for the rest of their lives.

"They still believe they can go one more game."

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Waipio Little League board member Lenny Fabro, right, and Waipio Little League President Troy Ogasawara hung a banner yesterday welcoming the team back to Honolulu. Assisting was Shari Outram, mother of player Kelsy.

Among the roughly 100 supporters awaiting the team's arrival last night were mothers who had arrived just a few hours before on an earlier flight. They came early and ready with leis and banners that said, "Welcome Back Champs!"

They watched the gate at baggage claim D with eager eyes and talked about the plays that were made and the games that should have followed. Some of them said they found it hard to watch the last game because they already knew their team was eliminated before it started.

"We got teary, but then we remembered, we have to cheer for them," said mother Susan Goya.

"I think some of the kids knew because ESPN mentioned something," said Bess Tanabe, mother of pitcher Kurt and wife of team manager Clyde. "But that just shows the character of these kids that they kept on playing."

If the word did get out, it did not get out to everyone on the team.

"It was hard watching some of the kids when they (the coaches) had to explain why they couldn't go on," said Pono Moises, older brother of player Kama Moises.

"My brother was a little teary-eyed. ... It was pretty heart-wrenching," said Pono, who traveled to Williamsport to support the team.

Pono was on the first Waipio team to make it to the World Little League Regionals in 1998. Unlike his brother's team, however, his team never made it to the finals.

"People say that I'm supposed to be jealous, but there's no way I can be jealous. ... Just watching these guys play puts a smile on my face," he said.