By Bobby Moorehead
Here’s the thing, I never wanted to be a Mariners fan, it just happened. If I could go back and change my life and somehow not become a Mariners fan, I would. It would have saved me from a lot of heartache.
But, I am what I am.
For those of you who don’t know anything about the Mariners or baseball in general, we stink. I’m talking worst of the worst. We have the longest playoff draught of ANY team in professional sports. Not just baseball, ANY sport. It’s been 17 years since they last played in a playoff series. 17! The craziest part about it, the last time they did make the playoffs, they set an Major League Baseball record for most wins in a season. Let me say that again, the last time they made the playoffs, they set the record for most wins in a season… Most ever. And somehow, they can’t make the playoffs in any of the 17 years after? Something just doesn’t add up.
The hardest part about it all, is that every year I talk myself into believing that we are finally going to do it, we are going to make it, and each year I am left devastated and yet, somehow optimistic. Looking back, it is crazy to see some of the teams the Mariners fielded over the years. Some of these rosters are bad. Really bad. And I talked myself into believing every single one of those teams was going to be the one that did it. It is almost embarrassing sometimes to look back and see what I was optimistic about. In hindsight, it’s so easy to look at the Mariners rosters over the years, and say ‘well of course they were bad’, but when you truly care about something as much as I do, you don’t see things the same way others do. Love can be blind.
I want the Mariners to succeed more than I want a successful life, or a successful marriage. I NEED them to succeed. Something inside of me has to see them do well, and I hate myself for it. But there is also something so sweet about it. I urge you Mariners fans, only the ones who have been here all along, to keep going, and to never give up.
Here are a few tips for the true Mariners fan:
1. Keep Hoping
You have made it this far, giving up now would be a disservice to yourself. I know it’s hard, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. What doesn’t kill you truly does make you stronger. These difficult 17 years (and counting) aren’t going to kill you. They definitely are not always fun, but having hope in something is a beautiful thing. Hope keeps you going, it gives you something to look forward to. When hope is gone, there is nothing left.
2. The moment it all comes together will be worth it
Only a small few of us will be able to say that we stuck with it, we were with them through thick and thin. I’ve known many who have given up on the team. Not us. We stood strong and are still standing strong. When the day comes, and the Mariners end the draught, we will be standing there with tears in our eyes and joy in our hearts. And let me tell you, that moment will be so sweet. The joy we will feel will be worth all the pain we went through to get there. The relief we will have after persevering and never giving up will be hard to put into words. Regular people just won’t understand.
I’ll wait 17 more years. I’ll even wait until the end of my life. And if that day comes, and I am on my death bed, I will look back and be grateful that I was able to have hope in something. Even if it is just in a baseball team.
Go M’s.