Bandwagoner

I'm a hardcore football fan. The rest? Fair-weather at best.

I like sports, but unless our hockey, baseball, and soccer teams are winning, I don't really pay attention. Football? I love it all the time. Baseball is boring unless we're winning. Hockey is fun to watch, but man, it's hard to follow that puck (even as a season ticket holder). And soccer? I'm getting more into it now that my son is obsessed.

But here's the thing: the Mariners are in the playoffs.

The last time I followed them this closely was 24 years ago when we went to the ALCS. And now? We just beat Detroit, we won game one against Toronto, and we're three wins away from the World Series. THE WORLD SERIES. That would be a first.

I'm kicking myself for not getting a ticket to game 5 against Detroit. What was I thinking?

I remember those 2001 Mariners. They won 116 games that season, and I was obsessed. Dan Wilson (our current manager!) was the catcher—my favorite player. We had Ichiro (I can still picture him at bat, pointing his bat at the pitcher and tugging at his sleeve). Bret Boone (BOOOOOONE—it sounded like fans were booing him). Our clutch pitcher, Freddy Garcia, Jamie Moyer, and our closer Kazuhiro Sasaki. Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, John Olerud, and of course, Lou Piniella.

I look at that roster and know every name. I wasn't a fair-weather fan back then—I truly loved the game.

And it wasn't just the Mariners. I loved the Red Sox too. We were raised Red Sox fans by a dad who grew up on the east coast. When they broke the Curse of the Bambino and won the World Series in 2004? My sister and I cried. One of my favorite memories.

So yeah, I might be a bandwagoner now. But I haven't always been. And who knows? Maybe this exciting playoff run will pull me back in. Maybe I'll learn the whole roster again.

Go Mariners. Let's do this.