Best Post-Game Speech Ever (From The LLWS)

I am a sucker for a great sports story.  When his team from New England lost in the LLWS, the manager, Dave Belisle, gathered the boys around and gave them a speech they will remember for the rest of their lives.  ESPN cameras caught the whole thing.

The Providence Journal provided the following transcript for the video:

"Heads up high.  Heads up high.  I've gotta see your eyes, guys.  There's no disappointment in your effort - in the whole tournament, the whole season.  It's been an incredible journey.

We fought. Look at the score – 8-7, 12-10 in hits. We came to the last out. We didn’t quit. That’s us! Boys, that’s us!

The only reason why I’ll probably end up shedding a tear is that this is the last time I’m going to coach you guys. But I’m going to bring back with me, the coaching staff is going to bring back, you guys are going to bring back that no one other team can provide – that’s pride. Pride.

You’re going to take that for the rest of your lives, what you provided for the town of Cumberland. You had the whole place jumping, right? You had the whole state jumping. You had New England jumping. You had ESPN jumping. OK? You want to know why? They like fighters. They like sportsmen. They like guys who don’t quit. They like guys who play the game the right way. If everyone would play baseball like the Cumberland Americans, this would be the greatest game.

See the video and read the whole transcript here.