A Glutton for Punishment; My Journey as a Life Long Seattle Sports Fan

Joey gets it.

   A couple years ago, ESPN Page 2 published an article on "Most Tortured Sports Fanbases" and listed Seattle as #1 on the list. The 2000's have not been kind to us in general. The Huskies fired Rick Neuhiesel and fell off the face of the planet culminating in the only Pac-10 team to not win a game with an 0-12 record. We watched Griffey, A-rod, and Randy Johnson leave the Mariners, who promptly set a record for regular season wins and then lost in the ALCS. The once proud and dominant Supersonics fell off the cliff into mediocrity and then left town right as they were starting to turn it around again. The Seahawks under-performed time and time again until finally reaching the pinnacle of NFL success only to have the rug pulled out from under them and a plethora of yellow hankies shoved down their throats.  That's just the last decade or so. Sure, we haven't suffered the World Series drought that the Cubs have, or our NFL team wasn't as inept as the Cardinals or the Lions, but over all, across the board, it is more difficult to be a Seattle Sports Fan (and to defend that fandom to others) than any other professional sports city in the USA.

   I was born in Puyallup Washington October of 1980. 1 year removed from the first and only major sports championship in Seattle since the 1917 Stanley Cup (sorry WNBA fans, you don't really count). I obviously didn't know it yet but I was beginning a life fraught with heart break and disappointment in the teams that are my birthright. By the time I was 10yrs old living in Moses Lake Washington, I was a die hard Ken Griffey Jr disciple (I shed real tears when he left, and then again when he was re-signed in 2008). As a fellow lefty and Center Fielder by trade it was only natural. It didn't hurt that Griffey was the biggest star in the game either of course. Football in those days was an after thought, I knew the Seahawks were bad, I heard my dad cussing at Dave Krieg every Sunday, but baseball was my true love at the time. I do have memories playing catch in the yard with my brothers where one of us was Krieg and the other was Brian Blades or Steve Largent, but that's really about it. Baseball was king in Moses Lake and therefore it was king of my life. The Mariners weren't on TV every night like they are now, so I remember talking to my friend every morning at school who just happened to be a walking talking baseball almanac (he could tell you Walter Johnsons ERA from 1930 if you asked him) and every day he would tell me how far in last place the Mariners were. It took until 1991 15 seasons in the league before the Mariners broke .500 with an 83-79 record under new Manager Lou Pinella.

  Fast forward to 1995, I was back living in Puyallup watching every game every night, Sonics, Seahawks, and Mariners with my grand parents. I remember the joy I felt watching Griffey, and A-rod. Edgar and Bone. Don't forget "Little" Joey Cora at 2nd base. The "Refuse to Lose" mantra and a golden age of Seattle Baseball. It didn't hurt that the Sonics were the best team in the NBA while Jordan was striking out in the White Sox farm system either, but of course they couldn't capitalize on that and were bounced in the first round of the playoffs in both 94 and 95. Then this happend: (if you don't tear up you're not a real Seattle fan)

   Aside from the 2005 NFCCG, this is probably the greatest moment in Seattle sports history. I get chills and tear up listening to the call by Dave Niehaus (RIP Dave) to this day. Remember when baseball fans in Seattle were just as loud as the football fans? I love the CLink and Safeco but sometimes I really miss the Kingdome days.

   In 1996 the Sonics finally broke though, handily defeating all comers. Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp ruled the city. A rookie 6th man of the year named Kobe Bryant got knocked out of the playoffs as Seattle was on a collision course with the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Championship.  Unfortunately the greatest to ever play the game had decided to give up his dream of playing in the MLB and returned to his domination of the NBA, and the Sonics in 6 games. Basketball has always been 3rd at best on my list, but I guess I'm overly emotional because I get misty eyed every time I watch a Payton and Kemp highlight reel, or think about Big Smooth Sam Perkins "stroking it for 3". Yeah, I know, that sounded dirty, but blame Kevin Calabro.

   Through the 90's the Mariners remained my #1 Seattle sports team, but in May of 2000 I joined the Navy,  and football took over my life. In the Navy you're either playing Madden against your friends after work, or you're talking crap about how bad every team in the NFL is except for yours. As a Seahawks fan, I had a lot of ground to make up. It didn't help that one of my best friends was not only a Raiders fan, but also a Duck. Luckily I was always able to get my team when we played Madden, and we had super quick Ahman Green, and then Shaun Alexander to bully people off the sticks with. I used to tear people apart with a heavy dose of Shaun Alexander and bombs to Darrell Jackson and Koren Robinson. I was nearly unbeatable. Then February made me bitter, with every paper I got delivered, bad news on my doorstep, I couldn't take one more step. Super Bowl XL. The game that will forever live in infamy. I remember sitting at home alone watching the game. No big party, I was the lone Seahawks fan among my peers anyway, so to hell with them. This was our day, our shot, we were the best team in the NFL, but it wasn't to be. Yellow flags, and dropped passes derailed the #1 offense in the NFL. Shaun Alexander was a non-factor, and one of the biggest douche bags in the NFL walked away with an MVP trophy.

   After the debacle that was SBXL we watched our Seahawks steadily decline. NFL MVP Shaun Alexander signed a huge deal and fell on his face and was out of the NFL in 2 years. Steve Hutchinson skipped bail and ran to Minnesota. Matt Hasslebeck suffered and struggled through injuries and a GM that wouldn't know an O-line if Walter Jones was sleeping with his daughter. Back to mediocrity. Mike Holmgren left, to be replaced by a one year 4 win season by Jim Mora which lead to his firing and the firing of the incompetent GM that gave him the job in the first place.

   We watched the Mariners go from winning 116 games in 2001 to losing 100+ games every other year. An ownership group that seems more interested in the bottom line and "feel good" stories than winning baseball games has run the franchise into the ground for the most part.

   The once great and proud Seattle Supersonics were sold by local owner Howard Schultz to a group from Oklahoma City that with the help of NBA Commissioner David Stern tried to hold the city and state hostage  in order to publicly fund a $500M arena or they would leave town. I feel sorry for Kevin Durrant that he has to play in Oklahoma City now.

  I see a light at the end of the long dark tunnel though. The Mariners have a young core of position players and pitching prospects that if they can put it all together could form a potent lineup and rotation. Dustin Ackley is a bonafide star to go with arguably the best pitcher in the game Felix Hernandez. The Seahawks under Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider have shown signs of life, back to back 7-9 seasons isn't great but the style of play and the youth and talent on the roster is a 180 degree shift from where we were 2 years ago. Add to that the announcement recently that Seattle is looking to build a new multi-purpose arena in the area south of Safeco Field with the intention of luring both an NBA and an NHL franchise to the city before they commit to breaking ground on the new building, which will be mostly privately funded. This doesn't even mention the fact that the Seattle Storm of the WNBA are relevant nationally every year with a shot to go to the Finals behind Sue Bird and Loren Jackson, and the Seattle Sounders FC of MLS has been a playoff team every year that they've been around.

  So, yes its been tough over the years to be a fan of Seattle sports teams. I agree with ESPN, Seattle is the most tortured sports city in the nation. All signs, however are pointing to a brighter future in the Emerald City. Stay the course young men and women. The best is yet to come.