FanPost Friday: Canadian Invasion war stories from T-Mobile Park
Chronicles from the poutine-and-maple-syrup-stained War of Northern Aggression
Hello and welcome back to FanPost Friday. I feel like I’ve said this multiple times in the last month of FPFs, but sweet jeebus it’s after July 4th and it’s for DAMN sure summer in the Pacific Northwest. Hope you had a safe and fun 4th and didn’t get too sunburned on what was an uncharacteristically HOT Independence Day. Can’t recall many warmer and sunnier than yesterday. What a treat.
Speaking of treats, Blue Jays fans are descending upon Seattle as we speak to drink, shit, and squawk all weekend. Most Mariners fans fall into two camps on the annual Canadian Invasion of T-Mobile Park when the Jays come to town. Those who are not conflict-averse or enjoy a good verbal sparring match tend to relish this series. Those who are not big fans of large and particularly belligerent crowds and would rather avoid conflict with opposing fans at all costs tend to gladly watch this series from home.
I definitely feel like it’s a phase of life thing. Throughout my 20’s and most of my 30’s, I felt a sense of duty to show up whenever a large bandwagon or out-of-town fanbase was going to show up for a series in Seattle. I still feel strongly that Mariners players deserve to feel like they’re playing a home game at their home stadium. Now, during many of those seasons, the Mariners were very bad, so me showing up to support the boys in the face of the opposing hordes was a Sisyphean task at best. I still did it many times and occasionally I was rewarded with sweet vindication like the famous Thunderstruck Game in 2014.
But, I’m at a phase of life now where my strong feelings about supporting the Mariners in the face of the Molson-fueled cacophony are massively outweighed by having kids and by a strong aversion to getting into shouting matches with strangers. I’m not here for it anymore and there are others who are, so to them I say, “Once more unto the breach, my friends.”
I’m betting many LLers have some good stories about the annual Blue Jays series in Seattle and that is this week’s prompt:
Give us your funniest, worst, and/or most triumphant war stories from your experiences seeing the Blue Jays play the Mariners in Seattle.
Go off in the comments, but don’t go off so hard at the games this weekend that you end up in the King County jail. Be safe out there! Remember, it’s only (a) game. Why you heff to be mad?