They are saying a Canadian winter might be harsh … October is seemingly extra so.
After a magical season, an electrifying playoff run and a Sport 7 that held your entire Pacific Northwest in suspended disbelief, the Seattle Mariners headed house. To not the World Sequence. To not a parade. Simply … house. Their season, which shimmered with a lot hope, led to a shocking, virtually surreal loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
It hurts. And when you’ve been a Mariners fan lengthy sufficient, it hurts in a well-known manner.
This wasn’t speculated to be the yr it ended like this. The pitching employees was elite. Cal Raleigh was transcendent. Town was buzzing with perception in a manner it hasn’t since 2001 — the final time we got here even remotely this shut. And but, right here we’re once more, nursing the injuries of what might need been.
Sport 7 might be dissected for years. The late-inning collapse. The questionable bullpen administration. The missed alternatives on the plate with runners in scoring place. The eerie silence that fell over T-Cell Park within the ultimate inning — in a stadium that had spent all evening getting ready to eruption — was the sound of 47,000 hearts breaking in unison.
However this loss isn’t nearly one recreation. It’s about many years of being instructed to attend. Many years of rebuilding, retooling and reimagining. It’s about Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar, Ichiro — legends who by no means received to hoist a trophy right here. It’s concerning the promise of “subsequent yr,” a chorus that has change into a merciless lullaby for this fan base.
And but — someway — we hold exhibiting up.
That’s the half the nationwide media by no means fairly understands about Seattle. They’ll discuss our droughts and our collapses, however they miss the loyalty. The packed stadiums in April. The youngsters in Julio jerseys. The idea that lives right here, regardless of every little thing.
This staff was totally different. They usually should be. The core is younger. The expertise is actual. However make no mistake: Alternatives like this don’t come usually. This Sport 7 will linger. It would hang-out. And it’ll outline how we measure the subsequent steps this franchise takes.
The entrance workplace owes this metropolis greater than apologies and platitudes. They owe us urgency. Aggression in free company. A refusal to be glad with “virtually.” As a result of this fan base? We’re uninterested in “virtually.” We’re prepared — greater than prepared — for a parade down Fourth Avenue.
So sure, mourn this loss. Really feel each ounce of heartbreak. However don’t confuse ache with pessimism. Seattle baseball is alive once more, and this metropolis received’t accept one other 20 years within the shadows.
To the Mariners: Thanks for the trip. Now go end the job.
