Rigorous school and work schedules the past several months have caused quite the blogging drought (as you can plainly see), but for my first post in awhile, I'd like to explore something a little different.
As I've now entered a (hopefully brief) period of unemployment, I find myself thinking as I conduct my day-to-day job search: how much longer can I be a "fan" in the traditional sense?
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I grew up on the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks. I don't think I need to go into detail on what the Seahawks did this past season, and since this is a baseball blog, let's look at the Mariners: ever since dropping two of three in Baltimore to begin the month of August, these guys have gone on a 14-4 tear, including a two-game sweep of the Braves, a three-game blowout of the Blue Jays, and a remarkable bash of the BoSox at Fenway, the M's first three-game sweep at the historic venue in club history.
Where has that gotten them? Well, look at the number in the win column--71. That is already the same amount of games the Mariners won all of last season. To have equaled that mark so comparatively early in the season speaks to the upgrades that Jack Zduriencik made in the offseason (don't even get me started on what Robbie Cano has done!). More importantly, however, it gives the M's a hold on that second AL wild card spot, with the Tigers, Yankees and Jays still looming beneath.
As a brief illustration to how much fun this season has been, let's look at one particular man who has turned a corner for Seattle: North Carolina native Dustin Ackley. Remember the past couple of years, when all he seemed to do was this?
He is one of many who have stepped things up this season, and now we're thankfully seeing a lot more of this:
But I digress. Among all this stretch-run celebration, I'm fully aware that my days of rooting for my beloved Mariners could very well be numbered. They say that in order to feel like your job is not even a job, find something that you enjoy. For me, that "something" is the prospect of working in sports, namely baseball. So what this means is that, for all I know, I could be working for a team in the Angels, Marlins, Indians, Royals or Astros organization next season, and at that point, that team in question will have its place right at the forefront of my mind. This would mean an end to my rooting (at least openly) for the good ol' boys from the Emerald City.
Thus, I have come to the conclusion that if this is indeed the last season I will be able to root for the M's, it will be anything but a sad ending. If anything, it will be a bright new beginning. Regardless of where I end up, there will still be memories aplenty of guys like Edgar Martinez, John Olerud, Felix Hernandez, Raul Ibanez and Kyle Seager dancing through my mind. Whether it's in the Big Apple, small-town Midwest USA or somewhere in the deserts of inland California, a future that includes working in the great game of baseball, or in any given sport, will simply take my fandom to a completely new and exciting level.
Perhaps some of you readers have had a similar experience? If so, I'd love to read about it in the comments.
Until then, I'm hunkering back down into that job search!
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"I don't just think regular season. I think playoffs. World Series. That's how I think."
-Mariano Rivera
