So-called "Everybody-stop whatever-you're-doing-and-watch" moments in Hawai'i's statehood sports history are rare, and usually limited to the college and professional levels:

The Fabulous Five's NCAA Tournament game vs. Weber State. The 2008 Sugar Bowl. BJ Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre.

But twice in the past four years, a bunch of 12-year-old neighborhood baseball players captivated the state and caused just about everyone around Hawai'i to huddle around the TV for three hours at a time on a Saturday and Sunday.

From seventh-grade classmates, to adult strangers with busy weekend schedules, to former high school, college and pro athletes or coaches who reached the summit of their sports, Hawai'i stopped whatever it was doing in late August 2005 and 2008 to watch and cheer for its own keiki o ka 'aina on the national stage.

"So many people were cheering for them, everybody wanted them to win," said former longtime University of Hawai'i baseball coach Les Murakami, about the Little League World Series champions from Waipi'o (2008) and West O'ahu (2005). "I was hoping so hard for them to win, because I've been there (to the College World Series), I know how difficult it is. And everybody feels good when a Hawai'i team does well."

FANTASTIC FINISH

Local youth baseball teams have done well on the national stage before, dating almost to the day of statehood.

In fact, Windward O'ahu advanced to the Little League World Series in 1959, and six Hawai'i teams in the next 43 years would also earn a spot in the South Williamsport, Pa., showcase. In 1988, Pearl City won the U.S. Championship before falling to Taiwan in the World final, and Waipi'o ended a 14-year drought for Hawai'i by making a 2002 appearance, but failed to advance out of pool play.

Over this time period, the popularity and participation of youth baseball exploded, with the Little League World Series moving from a novelty on ABC's "Wide World of Sports" to daily national coverage on ESPN leading up to the U.S. and World finals on network TV.

"As anchors, all of us look forward to it," ESPN SportsCenter's Michael Kim told The Advertiser this past weekend. "It's the one event where we don't need to worry about scandals, the kids are playing purely for the love and joy of the game. It reminds us of why we got into sports to begin with."

In 2005, West O'ahu (based in 'Ewa Beach) advanced out of regional play in San Bernardino, Calif. and pool play in South Williamsport. By the time it defeated Lafayette, La., in the U.S. semifinals, much of Hawai'i had begun to follow the team's journey and learn the names and personalities of the kids.

There was fiercely intense pitcher Vonn Fe'ao, tiny-but-spunky first baseman Layson Aliviado, quiet-but-powerful catcher Michael Memea.

The manager, down-to-Earth local boy Layton Aliviado (Layson's dad), was someone thousands of Hawai'i fathers/coaches could relate to.

The team was on a hitting tear for much of the World Series, scoring 26 runs in the first four games. Then it beat Rancho Buena Vista, Calif., 6-1, for the U.S. Championship.

The next day — Aug. 28, 2005 — is one of those where many Hawai'i residents will remember where they were, and with whom they were watching the World final with.

West O'ahu trailed powerhouse Curacao, 6-3, in the bottom of the sixth inning, three outs away from defeat. But they rallied to tie it, and Fe'ao put on a stunning display of fastballs in striking out the side in the top of the seventh.

Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Memea launched a line drive over the fence in right-center, in what the New York Times described as "perhaps the most dramatic home run in the history of the Little League World Series." It was the first game-ending home run in an LLWS finale, and the 7-6 victory was a cause for celebration across Hawai'i and the Mainland.

The team made front-page headlines, topped all the local newscasts, a parade down Kalakaua Boulevard in Waikiki followed. The players and coaches gained celebrity status.

"It was an important win for Hawai'i," said Murakami. "It goes to show our talent, that you cannot take our local kids cheap."

EPIC COMEBACK

Just three years later, a team from Waipi'o would generate a similar wave of excitement, perhaps in even more dramatic fashion.

It started in the state tournament on Kaua'i, where they lost their first game and had to win the title coming out of the losers' bracket. At the San Bernardino regional, Waipi'o advanced to South Williamsport only after a late-inning home run by Pikai Winchester.

In the Little League World Series opener, starting catcher Iolana Akau was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat and suffered a hairline fracture in his arm.

But the scrappy Waipi'o bunch kept chugging along. Victories over teams from Connecticut, Florida, South Dakota and Washington put them in the U.S. Championship game against Lake Charles, La.

Handcuffed by hard-throwing pitcher Trey Quinn, Waipi'o trailed 5-1 entering the top of the sixth inning.

But highlighted by Tanner Tokunaga's go-ahead, two-run double, they rallied to take a 7-5 lead and then held on for a shocking comeback victory that thrilled a packed crowd of over 28,000 at Lamade Stadium and a live TV audience across Hawai'i and the nation.

"I've been coming to Williamsport since 1990," ABC play-by-play announcer Brent Musberger told a network TV audience at the top of the next day's telecast. "It was the greatest comeback in a championship game that I've ever witnessed in Little League."

The next day, Waipi'o stunned Mexico, 12-3, to give Hawai'i its second World Series title.

"I give (head coach) Timo (Donahue) and his coaches a lot of credit," Murakami said. "They got those kids to believe in themselves."

More importantly — just like West O'ahu before them — the Waipi'o team of 12-year-olds got thousands of people across the islands to also believe in themselves.

"It evokes state pride, pride in being from Hawai'i," said Pal Eldredge, a longtime local baseball coach and TV analyst.

But ESPN's Kim said that feeling carried far beyond Hawai'i.

"Growing up in Missouri, I always watched the Taiwanese dominate (the Little League World Series)," Kim said. "We always hope the U.S. teams do well, but for me, when Hawai'i won, there is a little extra Asian American/Pacific Islander pride. I was cheering for them, too."