Dont know why I thought about this today....but I was thinking of all the things that Made me a rabid Mariners at heart.....and wondered what had possessed others...

Each person has probably posted it before....but in a time in which many fans are bitter or just not as much hope in their mind....

Why are you a Mariners fan? Location only? Favorite player as a kid = favorite team? What is your story?

Basically.... ...Your Seattle Mariners love story.

I like this qustion e Martinez, I have been a mariner fan since 1996 I was 8 years old, and lived in and still live in missouri. I loved Griffey, Buhner, Martinez, and many more. But Griffey was really the one that got me loving the mariners and baseball in general. To this day I am the biggest Mariner fan around were I live. I get the MLB extra innings on Direct tv everyear and watch every game. Im surrounded bye Cardinal and royal fans, but I stay true to My Mariners, absolutely love the Mariners.

Griffey Jr. I grew up a Red Sox fan but always admired Griffey Jr so when I moved out to the PNW it was only natural to continue to root for the player I had watched from across the country. Somehow I think rooting for perennial losers and struggling teams fits my personality a lot better than rooting for a perennial contender. I like the challenge and the emotional payout seems much higher when success does arrive.

Sheesh, one of these days I will quit typing your when I mean you.

Edit Title: Why are you a Seattle Mariners fan? or Why you're a Seattle Mariners fan? or Why your with a Seattle Mariners fan?

but I refuse to call the punctuation police on myself with apostrophes.

That's a really good question. Had to think on that. Realized I had a hard time verbalizing it.
It ain't easy, that's for sure. I've got so close to not caring anymore, so many times. I am a fan of the Dodgers because they were the team near my hometown when I was a boy. So I have a bit of "they're my homies," in me. And that fandom was helped by incredible success on the field. I experienced Koufax and Drysdale. Thought that was how baseball was for everybody!
I came here in '83. Went to My first M's game May 1, 1983. Watched Gaylord Perry get shelled by Balt. Palmer was supposed to start, but was a late scratch. I watched Storm Davis get his first MLB start that day. And I have heard that Palmer never started a game in the Kingdome. Apparently just refused to. Ever. Anyone know if that's a myth or not?
Part of my fandom is I now have a fairly long history with the team. I got to watch the improvement start in '89 when they brought Jim Lefevbre to manage. There was a mindset change that was palpable to me. That was KGJr's 1st season and we had Jeffrey Leonard on the team. I'll never forget him saying during spring training, "This team can play. We aint no losers anymore." The Hackman" was a bad az$ that could back it up.
Then came '95 and '97. And then 2000 and 2001. I started getting used to winning and the Mariners scaring teams that had to play them. But it's been a while. I need a winning season BAD.

Location, location, and location.
Root, root, root for the home team!

Jimmy. You're story puts a giant grin on my face. So how did baseball, or those players get your attention? Did anyone introduce you to the game, or to the M's? Very curious how a dude from MO becomes a die-hard M's fan. Cool story !

"Root, root, root for the home team! "

So you're a Husky fan?!?!?! J/k Go Cougs!!!

It is interesting how Griffey pulled in some fans and some have stayed on board. Just remember every year another kid starts following baseball and if you happen to be the big team or have the best player, you may gain a fan for life.

I am in Eastern WA, but Seattle pro teams are my local teams.

I took my 9-year-old nephew to his first MLB game. Mariners, in the kingdome in '92. He locked on to Griffey and is a fan of the game, and the M's to this day. Oh. He lives in N. Calif. Hates the A's cuz they are the M's enemy. Gotta love a good kid.

Started with the first pitch in '77 and the voice of Dave Neihaus calling the strike.
Now whether that first pitch by Diego Segui was really a strike doesn't matter, baseball was in my area. We had a team again. The joy! Yeah, we got slaughtered, but who cared.

I went to the third game ever. It was my very first major league game. I was in fan heaven. I can remember hearing the pitcher's pitch pop the glove of the catcher and wondering what the heck was that noise. Until I looked in the bull pen and saw the reliever warming up. It was mind boggling that that ball was going that fast. o.0

Also remember the fan three rows behind me yell out to Joe Rudy... "Take it easy on us, Rudy!" and then he promptly proceeded to smack the darn thing into the left field bleachers of the Kingdome. But I didn't care, it was baseball, darn it!

Can recall being at work listening to the games on the radio and having a customer ask me my favorite team. I said the Mariners. He said "I mean a real team." And I said "The Mariners." Then came '95 and all I could do was think of that man and grin... "Vindication!" :D

I grew with the team. I learned more of the ins and outs of the game from my M's.

All that and more is why I'm an M's fan.

Well I was born and raised in Southern California and my youngest years as a baseball fan were spent on the Dodgers. However that all changed when Ken Griffey Jr. hit the scene. He was everything I loved about the game of baseball. In so many ways he made the game "cool" and quickly became my favorite player. So naturally I became a Seattle Mariner fan which only became stronger after I met my future wife who lived in Snohomish. Someday I plan on retiring to Washington State and more specifically the Snohomish County region.

Maybe it's just because of the internet and who uses it, but the Mariners seem to have have pretty strong base of fans that were school aged in the late 90s and early 2000s. I wonder if there will be a big fall off of fans after the last 10 or so years of futility. I think people don't pay as much attention to how you win or lose certain age groups during years of success or failures. I noticed that going to Seahawks games where it seemed that all the 49ers fans there roughly started following the team in the 1980s.

I-CHI-RO! I-CHI-RO! Been a fan since 2001, and I lived in NYC at the time. Moved to the great State of Washington a few years later and loved baseball at Safeco. No quitting now, even though I'm back in NYC. Go, M's!

I was born in Seattle and I love the game. Simple.

It's a like story for me. I like the Mariners. A bunch. I follow them because I like baseball, live in the area, and it connects me to others (not just forum people).

Favorite M of all time? RJohnson. In the conversation as the best pitcher in modern baseball history (though I imagine kingkoufaxii would disagree), especially PED free pitcher, given RCLemens fall from grace. Plus, hitting a bird with a fastball is a darn cool accomplishment.

.

So I live in New Zealand, where historically we don't play baseball, just softball for men and women, but even that is a minority sport, that I had limited interest in when I was growing up or as an adult. In 2001 I moved to Japan to work and the only English speaking TV that was on a lot was MLB and as it was Ichiro's first year everyday there was a Mariners game on and these were mostly before I went to work. So I was hooked on the game and the Mariners. It was a great year to start following them.

Back living in NZ now, I get MLB TV every year my friends,co workers and wife think my obsession is nuts as they don't know much about the game and this year I will be making my second trip to Seattle to watch the M's, once my kids are old enough then we will hopefully all come out as a family. So if you see a Kiwi in the pub or at a game by himself, come say g'day.

Your should work on that.

=========
To:All Jan-21 42261.5Reply to 42261.1

E_MartinezPosts:2262

Sheesh, one of these days I will quit typing your when I mean you.

Edit Title: Why are you a Seattle Mariners fan? or Why you're a Seattle Mariners fan? or Why your with a Seattle Mariners fan?

but I refuse to call the punctuation police on myself with apostrophes.