SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — There are always lots of fans cheering at the Little League World Series. But during each game, one group always stands out — the players' families.
Many parents spend a good portion of their summers traveling with their kids playing in tournaments with the goal of making it to South Williamsport.
"Gather what funds you can do because this is a once-in-a-lifetime, and you're going to make it work whatever it takes," said Kyle George, a parent from the Great Lakes region.
The team representing the Great Lakes region is from Hagerstown, Indiana. George says many of the families were able to come thanks to support from their community.
"I think we've got several tens of thousands of dollars to help fund the families to get here. They've done some fundraisers with t-shirts and different things that way, and most of it's just been from our county and community giving us the money to get here."
Pablo Puente, a Mexico region parent, traveled to South Williamsport from Matamoros, Mexico, with around 30 other people.
"Some of them came in the airplane, some in the car. A lot of people helped us with the money," said Puente.
Some of the teams only had a few days' notice that they were coming to the Little League World Series.
"We got here, had a place, and due to availability, we had to scoot around from one hotel to the next trying to stay as close to the stadium as we could," said Emily Carter, a parent from the Southeast region.
The team representing the southeast region is from Nolensville, Tennessee. Parents are dealing with the issue of return flights.
"We now want to push it back. I pushed my return flight, I think, for the third time. It's the wonderful problem of getting to push it back when your team keeps winning," said Southeast region parent Ashley Daniel.
Despite being far from home, parents tell us they wouldn't miss this for the world.