In many ways, the fans of Seattle-based sports teams have had a fairly charmed existence. The Seahawks have won a Super Bowl in the last 15 years and have been to three this century. The Sounders have won two MLS Cups and have been to four cup finals since 2016. The Storm have won four WNBA titles in four WNBA Finals appearances. The most recent coming in 2020. The Reign have finished as NWSL runners-up three times. The Kraken has breathed new life into the PNW fan base, giving the NHL another foothold in Cascadia.
Then comes the bad stuff. Two teams share heartbreak and heartache.
The SuperSonics, the team that was ripped away from the Seattle faithful and sent to Oklahoma City, could not have been more popular, but it didn’t matter.
The Mariners. The only team in Major League Baseball to have never appeared in the World Series. If you’re not really a baseball fan, this might shock you. This means that teams like the Rockies, Rays, and Angels have all made appearances (and won, in the case of the 2002 Angels) despite their history of underperforming. Sorry to those three fan bases catching strays here. But it is what it is.
The 2001 Mariners finished with an MLB-best record of 116 wins and 46 losses. Yet when it came to the postseason, they faltered. Losing to the Yankees in the ALCS 4-1. It took them until 2022 to make it back to the postseason. They have been mired in mediocrity for the better part of two decades.
This is not to say that they have been irrelevant. Far from it. Felix Hernandez dominated on the mound. Ichiro flashed his bat and glove, wearing a Mariners jersey for over a decade. “The Kid,” aka Ken Griffey Jr., dazzled with his signature swing. Randy Johnson struck fear into the hearts of batters with his vicious fastball. Recently, Julio Rodriguez took up residence as the new superstar of the city.
On the night I was in town, so were the hated New York Yankees.
T-Mobile Park is a fairly easy ballpark to visit. You can easily reach the stadium if you hop on the Link light rail train. In fact, these directions apply to you even if you were going to see the Sounders or Seahawks play, too. T-Mobile Park is directly across the street from Lumen Field. If you time it right, you will only have to follow the throngs of other baseball fans to the stadium. No thinking is required.
Arriving at the game early allowed me to walk around the stadium, where I looked for the team store to buy my obligatory pin and other merchandise. As you can see from the photos above, the Mariners are wearing their “City Connect” jerseys. This is a way for Nike to sell more jerseys and merch. That’s all it is. Boy, did it work on me. I bought a hat and a pin with the royal blue and black color scheme. Sorry, not sorry.
After making a lap around the concourse, I zeroed in on some traditional ballpark food: a dog, a beer, and a pretzel. Out of all the stadiums I’ve been to recently, I was most impressed by the food options at T-Mobile Park. I was so impressed that I went with the most pedestrian of options for a baseball game: SMDH.
The game was on its way to being a blowout by the 4th inning. The Yankees assumed control by a 6-1 margin and did not let up. They eventually won the game 11-2. The highlight, for me, came when I least expected it. The outfield gates opened during a break in the action, and four anthropomorphic fish walked onto the warning track. The Salmon Run was happening!
I have mentioned how much I love mascots, and tonight was no exception.
As it stands, there are four salmon that run the race. There is King, Sockeye, Silver, and Humpy (pictured above). This race was the most exciting thing I had seen all night. I was surrounded by Yankee fans, and their cheering grew tiresome. I wanted them to be humbled. The Salmon Run allowed me a brief bit of relief from their cheering so I could give it my all and cheer on the lovable Humpy. Like the team he supports, he did not win.
Back to the game, it was over before I knew it. The stadium is beautiful, though. The sightlines are solid. They did a nice job laying out the field and spacing the concourses. It’s a shame that the stadium’s upper deck was not more full. I can see it when the fans’ energy is palpable, and their cheering can sometimes be deafening. Seattle is known for passionate fans. The team on the field just needs to be good enough to bring them all in.
I can’t wait to go back. It’s a great stadium and fanbase that deserves to host a World Series.
John Kidde Writes 