Last night the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays finally finished off the Boston Red Sox for the franchise's first appearance in the World Series. As a fan of all things underdog and because I'm sick of the Boston faithful (they have become worse than Yankee fans), I'm excited to see the Rays and will be rooting for them to beat up on the Philadelphia Phillies when the series starts on Wednesday.
That being said, the Rays appearance in the World Series reminds me that being a Seattle Mariners fan is a really pathetic experience. 31 years of futility, of not even being close to the World Series, and really no hope anytime soon. It's a sad, almost depressing team to support and with the Rays appearance in the World Series, there are now only three Major League Baseball teams that haven't been there: the Texas Rangers, the Washington Nationals (ex-Montreal Expos) and my very own Seattle Mariners. What a joke.
The Mariners debuted in 1977 (coincidentally or not, the year I was born) and went 14 years before posting a winning record and really didn't achieve success until 1995. That was a magical, beautiful season that ended with them basically giving up in the ALCS when they were overmatched by the Cleveland Indians. No World Series for us. Then in 2001, the M's won an MLB record 116 games but lost in the ALCS to the New York Yankees, four games to one. The best team in Mariners history, hell, the winningest team in baseball history and we got nothing to show for it. Since that steroid fueled season, the M's have been ugly and the franchise has seen a massive depletion in talent throughout and it's going to be a long, long time until they are good again.
In the time that the Mariners have been around, five other franchises have come into existence: The Toronto Blue Jays (1977), the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies (1993) and the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998). And in that time, all of them have appeared in the World Series. In fact, the Diamondbacks have won one World Series and the Blue Jays and the Marlins have each won two. Let me say that again. The Florida Fucking Marlins, A team that has no fans, has the shittiest ballpark in MLB and may cease to exist in a few years have won two World Series. The Mariners...zilch.
The only teams that are even close to the Mariners in patheticness are the Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs. The Rangers are so bad that since they were first founded as the Washington Senators in 1961, they have never even won a playoff series. Other than a couple Nolan Ryan no-hitters, they have given their fans nothing to be proud of. I'll have to admit, to be a Rangers fan is probably worse than being a Mariners fan. Even if they were good, you'd still be in Texas, a fate I wouldn't give for any World Series appearances.
And we all know about the Cubs, but at least they have been to a World Series and even won, albeit 100 years ago. Plus there are a ton of other distractions in Chicago to take your mind off of how bad the Cubs are. Here, especially with the failures of the Seahawks and the Huskies and the departure of the Sonics, we don't have much in the way of sports to distract us from the Mariners.
The Mariners are so pathetic, that even when you root for them to do bad, like a lot of us were at the end of this season so that they could get the #1 draft pick next year, they put together some wins to give them the second worst record in the Majors and the #2 pick.
As an M's fan, you can't win. It's impossible. I'm not even totally sure why I continue to try. But they've been my team since I was born, they are my team now and they will always be my team. Some year it will pay off, I hope. But watching putrid franchises like the Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays, Florida Marlins and even, probably before my M's, the Texas Rangers (at least they have some studs now), makes watching the World Series hurt more and more every year.
So enjoy it Tampa Bay fans, even though you just discovered the Major League Baseball team in your backyard, you're now an even less pathetic bunch than we are.
That being said, the Rays appearance in the World Series reminds me that being a Seattle Mariners fan is a really pathetic experience. 31 years of futility, of not even being close to the World Series, and really no hope anytime soon. It's a sad, almost depressing team to support and with the Rays appearance in the World Series, there are now only three Major League Baseball teams that haven't been there: the Texas Rangers, the Washington Nationals (ex-Montreal Expos) and my very own Seattle Mariners. What a joke.
The Mariners debuted in 1977 (coincidentally or not, the year I was born) and went 14 years before posting a winning record and really didn't achieve success until 1995. That was a magical, beautiful season that ended with them basically giving up in the ALCS when they were overmatched by the Cleveland Indians. No World Series for us. Then in 2001, the M's won an MLB record 116 games but lost in the ALCS to the New York Yankees, four games to one. The best team in Mariners history, hell, the winningest team in baseball history and we got nothing to show for it. Since that steroid fueled season, the M's have been ugly and the franchise has seen a massive depletion in talent throughout and it's going to be a long, long time until they are good again.
In the time that the Mariners have been around, five other franchises have come into existence: The Toronto Blue Jays (1977), the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies (1993) and the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998). And in that time, all of them have appeared in the World Series. In fact, the Diamondbacks have won one World Series and the Blue Jays and the Marlins have each won two. Let me say that again. The Florida Fucking Marlins, A team that has no fans, has the shittiest ballpark in MLB and may cease to exist in a few years have won two World Series. The Mariners...zilch.
The only teams that are even close to the Mariners in patheticness are the Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs. The Rangers are so bad that since they were first founded as the Washington Senators in 1961, they have never even won a playoff series. Other than a couple Nolan Ryan no-hitters, they have given their fans nothing to be proud of. I'll have to admit, to be a Rangers fan is probably worse than being a Mariners fan. Even if they were good, you'd still be in Texas, a fate I wouldn't give for any World Series appearances.
And we all know about the Cubs, but at least they have been to a World Series and even won, albeit 100 years ago. Plus there are a ton of other distractions in Chicago to take your mind off of how bad the Cubs are. Here, especially with the failures of the Seahawks and the Huskies and the departure of the Sonics, we don't have much in the way of sports to distract us from the Mariners.
The Mariners are so pathetic, that even when you root for them to do bad, like a lot of us were at the end of this season so that they could get the #1 draft pick next year, they put together some wins to give them the second worst record in the Majors and the #2 pick.
As an M's fan, you can't win. It's impossible. I'm not even totally sure why I continue to try. But they've been my team since I was born, they are my team now and they will always be my team. Some year it will pay off, I hope. But watching putrid franchises like the Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays, Florida Marlins and even, probably before my M's, the Texas Rangers (at least they have some studs now), makes watching the World Series hurt more and more every year.
So enjoy it Tampa Bay fans, even though you just discovered the Major League Baseball team in your backyard, you're now an even less pathetic bunch than we are.
4 comments:
This is just what we need after having lost the Sonics. And what misery will the Seahawks bring this season?
My first baseball glove was a Richie Zisk model.
Can't for the life of me tell you why.
It is just woefully, sorrowfully painful, and I don't continue to try anymore exactly - all my emotional energy goes to the Seahawks. But the Ms are still the home team, there's still that love there, somehow, and still an ember of hope. I just leave it be, smoldering on. When they earn my attention, a new surge of my emotional energy, I'll pour it on. I think by some definitions this makes me a fair weather fan. I'm not altogether at peace with that; loyalty is a big huge deal with me. But that's how fucking bad they are now, and for how long. It takes a lot to push me beyond the threshold, but they've managed it and I'll have to be won back, I'm afraid.
I think Seattle fans might have it worse all-around in sports, for at least there are the Cowboys in Texas (which, having lived in Texas, far more sports fans care about).
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