HAMILTON, Ohio — You heard them before you saw them.
WATCH: Hamilton West Side players ride through their hometown as fans pack the streets to celebrate.
Corvette engines revved as police sirens sounded, signaling the start of a celebration Hamilton had been waiting for since its Little League team left for Williamsport.
Then came the players.
The 12-year-olds who spent weeks playing on one of the biggest stages in youth sports were suddenly riding through their hometown in luxury cars, waving to fans, signing baseballs and taking in the scene around them.
And every so often, the crowd broke into a familiar call and response:
“O-H!”
“I-O!”
It was a very Hamilton way to welcome home a team that had spent the summer giving the city plenty to cheer about.
The Little League World Series ended a week ago, but the celebration continued Monday with a parade from West Side Little League to Marcum Park.
More than 100 people gathered at the park for a presentation honoring the players and coaches, led by the mayor and Hamilton City Council.
Mayor Pat Moeller told the crowd Hamilton is known for two things: its water and Little League baseball.
For many of the fans lining the parade route, Monday was the first time they had seen the players since their remarkable run began.
“I watched each one of them on TV, and it just made you feel proud of Hamilton,” Hamilton fan Jill Fuller said.
Fuller was among the many who followed the team from home, watching games on television and keeping up with the players' journey.
“Just showing all the love you can show for just 12-year-old kids,” she said.
From Williamsport to Hamilton
The scene was a stark contrast to the one Hamilton West Side experienced in Williamsport.
Previous coverage:
During the Little League World Series, mornings began with fog rising from the river and giving the sunrise a glow over the ballparks.
Before long, fans packed the stadium and the famous hill, setting up lawn chairs to watch high-level baseball.
The atmosphere could feel more like an MLB All-Star Game than a youth tournament. At times, it was easy to forget that the players on the field were only 12 years old.
Fans slid down the hill on cardboard. Crowds inside the stadium erupted at every big play. While the spectacle around them grew, the players remained locked in on the field.
Hamilton's players, coaches and families could feel the support from home, but much of it reached them through screens.
They saw posts on social media.
They heard about watch parties.
They watched videos of fans cheering them on from Hamilton.
But Monday gave them something they couldn't get in Williamsport.
They could see it for themselves.
“To get home, see people in person and hear what they experienced too,” parent Julie Treadway said. “It's just been amazing. The support's been insane.”
Tim Nichting, who helped coach the team, said returning home gave him a better understanding of just how much the community had invested in the team's journey.
“I got a lot of thank yous and a lot of love and helping me understand exactly what was going on in Hamilton,” Nichting said.
For Boone Treadway, one of the team's pitchers, the attention was something he wasn't accustomed to.
“It was like I was a celebrity,” he said.
A summer Hamilton won't forget
At Marcum Park, the celebration continued with a presentation from the mayor and City Council recognizing the players and coaches.
The crowd cheered.
The players smiled and waved.
And the familiar “O-H-I-O” chant echoed through the park one more time.
For a team that had spent weeks representing Hamilton hundreds of miles away, the celebration was a chance to finally experience the hometown support firsthand.
“All our hard work paid off,” Nichting said. “And what a great thing to happen to Hamilton, Ohio.”
He said the team's success also showed what can happen when young players have the right support around them.
“We seem to have the right recipe for helping kids play baseball,” Nichting said.
Eventually, the crowd dispersed, heading their separate ways to continue celebrating Labor Day and the end of a summer they are unlikely to forget.
Williamsport is where Hamilton West Side made history.
But Monday was about bringing that story home.
For the players, families, coaches and fans who lived it, the memories of this summer are likely to last much longer than the final score.
