Chula Vista celebrates the Blue Bombers tonight

There will be no sad and sorry sports fans in San Diego tonight. After beating Taiwan 6-3 in the Little League World Championship, the Chula Vista Park View players, a.k.a. the Blue Bombers, will be arriving home tonight for a welcome back celebration. At around 9 p.m. tonight, Southwestern College will be hosting the event and possibly a “big” surprise guest will be making an appearance. “It’s big for the community, it’s big for the Little League, and it’s big for the city,” said Andrew Madarang, 22, “San Diego’s going to be rocking the rest of this week.”  Southwestern College is located at 900 Otay Lakes Road in Chula Vista.

Photo taken by Matt McGee via Flickr

A hometown hero celebration is also planned for Friday, including a parade and rally for the Little League players. The festivities are set for Friday, September 4, in Memorial Park and Bowl at 6 p.m. The San Diego champs will ride in on fire engines including a police escort and a band through western Chula Vista. “The City is excited to celebrate the team’s accomplishment.  The rally will be an opportunity for fans and supporters to congratulate Chula Vista’s hometown heroes,” said Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox. According to the Chula Vista website, the truck will depart F Street Fire Station heading north on Fourth Avenue, turning right heading east on E Street and will proceed south down Third Avenue, and turning right on Park Way.  The procession will end at Memorial Park and Bowl at approximately 6 p.m. Memorial Park and Bowl is located at 373 Park Way in Chula Vista.

The relationship between San Diego and the Little League Championship has been non-existent since the La Mesa-El Cajon team won a championship at Williamsport in 1961. However this year, the Blue Bombers made themselves, Chula Vista, and San Diego well known in the Little League community. From the team-work inspiring movie, “Bring it on,” the Chula Vista Park View players “brought it.” After all the hard work and non-stop dedication, these boys are true players to the game.