TemporaryMariner
08-01-2011, 11:39 AM
Hi all, I came on this board a few weeks ago asking for help with travel to a Mariners game while I was in Seattle (15th July), well I went, and have just got back to the UK and thought I'd say thanks again to the guys on here who helped me with advice, and to all the fans for making my trip very memorable.
We came in from Queen Anne on the bus - and then walked from downtown - was really easy to get to the stadium. We stopped off at Pyramid for their party in a car park, which was good fun, and a good place to meet everyone else going to the game.
Then took our seats, checked out the stadium, and watched some ball. Despite not knowing some of the rules (we had to ask who these extra guys on 1st and 3rd were - some coaches apparently), we got the hang of it. It did look like the Texas pitcher was pretty good, and the Mariners struggled to hit the thing.
So it ended in a 4-0 loss for the Mariners to the Rangers, nobody in the crowd seemed that surprised.
The good :
tickets much cheaper than soccer tickets. The map on the website made it look like our seats were miles away (section 116), but for 40 odd dollars each, we were pretty close to the action. Much better value than top level soccer.
the stadium - Safeco field is one of the best stadiums I have ever been to in sport (honest), I loved the upper level where you can walk around, buy stuff and still see the game, the seats were comfortable, and as the sun went down, everything looked great. I didn't go in the fancy eating bit that they kept plugging, but it looked packed, and I think it's a good idea.
the atmosphere - now everyone I was near complained about the atmosphere. The girl sitting near us claimed the atmosphere was terrible, she was only here on sufference of her boyfriend, and that I should really check out the Sounders instead for a "real crowd". Others told me I should see the crowds when the Seahawks played. However, for a Friday evening, watching baseball, I liked it - not as rambunctious as soccer, more fun loving than a cricket crowd.
bobbleheads - I liked getting free stuff. When we started at the Pyramid, we saw all these bobbleheads, with no idea how to get some. We thought "well we didn't need any bobbleheads anyway". 2 pints later, we needed bobbleheads, we stormed over to international will call demanding our bobbleheads. We didn't know we had to get them at the gates. One guy near us loved them - he was telling us about how 2001 was a great year for him and the background to his summer was the Mariners winning all the time.
The program - I bought one of the unofficial ones from outside the stadium, couple of bucks and a great read - bargain! This sort of fanzine culture is really dying out in soccer, so this was good to see.
The bad :
beer prices - $10 for a bud is a ridiculous price, I ended up drinking the wine from the wine seller guy as that was much cheaper.
lack of hitting the ball - I don't know much about baseball, but I guess this is a bit of a problem for this Mariners team?
My 1 suggestion : (OK I do have one)
In the UK - all teams have a "song" that play when they run out to get the crowd going. Also, the teams tend to play music from local groups, especially in Manchester where you will hear the Stone Roses, Oasis, etc. constantly all over town and at the sports grounds. I say - get a bit more Seattle music on the PA - play Purple Haze or Smells Like Teen Spirit as the team runs out before the first innings, play Alive after a home run, stuff like that - do the other local teams do this?
But basically I really enjoyed it - if I'm in Seattle I'll definitely go again. And I'll be watcing out for Mariners results from now on.
Aside - I then went to Charleston (SC) for a couple of days, and went into a discount sport store, where they quickly realise I know nothing about US sports (to be fair, they had a point - I only went in to buy a Charleston Battery shirt, and that was because they have a cool logo). But I think they assumed that all English know nothing about baseball... I go in, they asked me if I had a baseball team, I asked if they had any Mariners stuff. The girl says "yes" and holds up a cheap looking Florida Marlins shirt. I say, "no the Mariners, from Seattle" and she proceeded to try and persuade me it was a Mariners shirt, despite clearly saying "Marlins" all over it, and having a picture of a marlin on it. Oh well...
We came in from Queen Anne on the bus - and then walked from downtown - was really easy to get to the stadium. We stopped off at Pyramid for their party in a car park, which was good fun, and a good place to meet everyone else going to the game.
Then took our seats, checked out the stadium, and watched some ball. Despite not knowing some of the rules (we had to ask who these extra guys on 1st and 3rd were - some coaches apparently), we got the hang of it. It did look like the Texas pitcher was pretty good, and the Mariners struggled to hit the thing.
So it ended in a 4-0 loss for the Mariners to the Rangers, nobody in the crowd seemed that surprised.
The good :
tickets much cheaper than soccer tickets. The map on the website made it look like our seats were miles away (section 116), but for 40 odd dollars each, we were pretty close to the action. Much better value than top level soccer.
the stadium - Safeco field is one of the best stadiums I have ever been to in sport (honest), I loved the upper level where you can walk around, buy stuff and still see the game, the seats were comfortable, and as the sun went down, everything looked great. I didn't go in the fancy eating bit that they kept plugging, but it looked packed, and I think it's a good idea.
the atmosphere - now everyone I was near complained about the atmosphere. The girl sitting near us claimed the atmosphere was terrible, she was only here on sufference of her boyfriend, and that I should really check out the Sounders instead for a "real crowd". Others told me I should see the crowds when the Seahawks played. However, for a Friday evening, watching baseball, I liked it - not as rambunctious as soccer, more fun loving than a cricket crowd.
bobbleheads - I liked getting free stuff. When we started at the Pyramid, we saw all these bobbleheads, with no idea how to get some. We thought "well we didn't need any bobbleheads anyway". 2 pints later, we needed bobbleheads, we stormed over to international will call demanding our bobbleheads. We didn't know we had to get them at the gates. One guy near us loved them - he was telling us about how 2001 was a great year for him and the background to his summer was the Mariners winning all the time.
The program - I bought one of the unofficial ones from outside the stadium, couple of bucks and a great read - bargain! This sort of fanzine culture is really dying out in soccer, so this was good to see.
The bad :
beer prices - $10 for a bud is a ridiculous price, I ended up drinking the wine from the wine seller guy as that was much cheaper.
lack of hitting the ball - I don't know much about baseball, but I guess this is a bit of a problem for this Mariners team?
My 1 suggestion : (OK I do have one)
In the UK - all teams have a "song" that play when they run out to get the crowd going. Also, the teams tend to play music from local groups, especially in Manchester where you will hear the Stone Roses, Oasis, etc. constantly all over town and at the sports grounds. I say - get a bit more Seattle music on the PA - play Purple Haze or Smells Like Teen Spirit as the team runs out before the first innings, play Alive after a home run, stuff like that - do the other local teams do this?
But basically I really enjoyed it - if I'm in Seattle I'll definitely go again. And I'll be watcing out for Mariners results from now on.
Aside - I then went to Charleston (SC) for a couple of days, and went into a discount sport store, where they quickly realise I know nothing about US sports (to be fair, they had a point - I only went in to buy a Charleston Battery shirt, and that was because they have a cool logo). But I think they assumed that all English know nothing about baseball... I go in, they asked me if I had a baseball team, I asked if they had any Mariners stuff. The girl says "yes" and holds up a cheap looking Florida Marlins shirt. I say, "no the Mariners, from Seattle" and she proceeded to try and persuade me it was a Mariners shirt, despite clearly saying "Marlins" all over it, and having a picture of a marlin on it. Oh well...