Think of sports as an endless cycle of seasons, a continuous procession of winners and losers. Like the Buddhist wheel of life, but with the national anthem repeating incessantly as a mantra.
In this particular religion, Cal State Northridge won't necessarily be reincarnated with another winning football team next year. Nor is the Vasquez High girls' basketball squad cosmically doomed to relive its 1-17 season.
Even the misdeeds of the Van Nuys High athletic program will be forgiven and forgotten, just as soon as probation ends.
Such is the dharma of sport. Last year's thrills and agonies are consigned to statistics. Winners begin anew while losers hope for a glorious rebirth. All the while, coaches strive for a perfect state of wisdom.
And before the wheel takes another turn, there is but a short time to meditate upon the year that was.
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Spring is the most hopeful of seasons, bringing with it a promise of renewed life and, even better, baseball.
In 1996, that meant a new minor league team for the city of Lancaster. Having moved from Riverside, the JetHawks played only .500 ball but scored a big hit with fans, drawing an average of 4,523 per game to a sparkling new stadium dubbed "The Hangar."
In addition to cheap seats and nightly promotions, the Class A team provided a rallying point for a community scarred by deserted strip malls and foreclosed homes.
"I've lived here my whole life and it's amazing how much people care about this," said Christine Snyder, a clerk in a shopping mall near the ballpark. "This is the first thing we've had that we can really get into."
Two hours south, and seemingly a world away, the residents of Moorpark also found themselves rallying around baseball as a group of local boys made it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. The team managed only one win in the Series, but that didn't stop the community from holding a parade to honor the boys.
"They fought so hard, they did so great, there is no reason for sadness," said Jayne Johnson, whose son Erik played center field.
That sentiment applied to yet another baseball team in the region, the squad at Cal State Northridge. Expected to finish a mediocre fourth in the Western Athletic Conference, the Matadors put together an unlikely 52-18 season that ended just one game short of the College World Series.
