Article:The State of Seattle

No, I am quite aware that Seattle is not a state - I am speaking metaphysically.

I don't want to bore you with Seattle sport discussions, but I really think this is a discussion that needs to happen.

Seattle has three major (pro and college) teams; Washington has four; the Pacific Northwest has seven (including Oregon College).

Yet, they have nothing. Oregon has the Blazers, Ducks and Beavers - all of which have had some sort of success the last few years. All Seattle has had is the Seahawks.

And now they have begun to fail.

The Mariners. Where do we start? They are on the verge of signing a new General Manager, after their last one drove the franchise into the ground. Not only did the Mariners become the first team to have a $100 Million and lose 100 games this season, they also traded away their best prospects to get a pitcher that won't take the mound if he didn't get to eat his Fruit Loops. Bavasi was a failure and now they have a great chance to choose between four of the premiere candidates out there, and really, who doesn't want to run a team with a seemingly endless pocketbook.

The Seahawks. I would like to still give them the benefit of the doubt: they have dealt with more injuries to key positions then any other team. When you play for weeks without your six best Receivers (three having been placed on injured reserve) and having to sign guys off of the scrap heap, you will undoubtedly fail. Especially in a West Coast Offense where plays are so heavily timing-based. Then, you lose your Quarterback. Ask the Cowboys or Patriots what happens when your Franchise QB goes down. Yet, the Defense is nothing. The Defense, which returned all 11 starters has failed to stop the Washington State Offense...

That brings me to:

The University of Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars. I won't dwell on them; I will just remind you that the Huskies are win-less and the Cougars have a single win, coming against the perenial powerhouse Portland State.

As a Seattle fan I get to hear all of the crap about the teams, I hear ESPN make jokes and other fans say worse, yet I still root. I hear the problems, I hear the pain, I feel the loss and see the hurt in the eyes of the millionaires who are failing.

So, what do we do?

Not all of us can be bandwagon fans. Not all of us can jump onto the truck with the Red Sox flags, or the train with the Titans hat. Not everyone can root for a winner. Right, Pirate fans? How have you been doing, Browns fans?

In Seattle we root for what we can. Now we are getting a Soccer team to offset the loss of our Basketball team. That's right, we also lost the one professional team we had that had ever won a title (Yes, the Storm have won).

I apologize if you are not a fan of Seattle sport, or if you look for any reason to mock the teams, (I dare you; mock them...) because your teams have failures as well.

Also, if you are going to talk about how great the Red Sox, Patriots, Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, Lakers, etc. be prepared to know a little about the history of you team; if you don't know the past and you root for the "favorite", you don't get to tell someone that their team is bad.

We already know.