Fans and families are attending the 2008 Little League Baseball World Series in record numbers. The single-day attendance record for a non-championship day was broken this past Saturday here in illiamsport. "Broken" is perhaps not descriptive enough, however. Smashed is more like it.

"We heard that maybe our attendance would be down this year because of gas prices and a slowdown in the economy," Lance Van Taken, Senior Communications Executive for Little League International, said. "But those may be having the opposite effect, " Van Taken said. "People know they can attend the Little League World Series for free. Parking is free too. Where else can you feed a family of four for less than $20, and watch world-class baseball without paying a cent to watch the games?"

The previous record for a non-championship day was set on Saturday, August 18, 2007, when 27,986 fans attended games at Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Little League Volunteer Stadium. On Saturday, August 16 of this year's World Series, the total attendance for the day was 30,443, an increase of nearly nine percent.

Since 2002, the number of fans attending each day's events at the Little League World Series has been established using digital counters on the metal detectors at security checkpoints. Each fan entering the Little League International complex must pass through the security checkpoint. On Friday, the first day of the 2008 World Series, the attendance was 19,735.

The largest attendance on a championship day came in the final day of the tournament in 1989, when an estimated 45,000 people saw a team from Trumbull, Conn., defeat a team from Chinese Taipei for the title.

Millions more are watching games from home. All 32 games of the 2008 Little League World Series are being televised on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. It will be interesting to see what the attendance will be at this years championship game on Sunday, August 24. The game will be televised on ABC and is scheduled to begin at 3:30 PM (EST).