Can the Seattle Mariners convince the 12th Man to root for the home team?
Feb 24, 2015, 5:54 AM | Updated: 12:45 pm
(AP Photo/File)
If there is something Seattle loves, it’s a winner. Just look at how the 12th Man has grown over the last few years as the Seahawks have achieved the highest of heights.
But with great expectations for the Mariners this season, should we expect the 12th Man to become a Mariners fan?
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There is a group of sports fans in this region who will follow and love any team from this city: Seahawks, Mariners, Sounders, Huskies – you name it.
But then there are the hardcore fans that simply stick to the sport that they love and don’t really pay much attention to the others.
So is the 12th Man also a Mariners’ fan?
“I think it’s been safe to say, in looking at what we’ve seen in the last five, six, seven years, that it’s been pretty separate,” said longtime Mariners reporter Shannon Drayer about the crossover.
“Mariners fan numbers have gone down, if you haven’t noticed, and that has a lot to do with performance and what you’ve been seeing on the field.”
But Drayer is seeing a little more of the 12th Man coming over to the Mariners.
“I think there is a crossover that started last year and I think that it’s a general kind of spirit for the city,” she said. “We want the Mariners to be good like the Seahawks. The Super Bowl was fun. Let’s do a World Series, too.”
It goes back to Seattle loving a winner. This is a big bandwagon city, which is fine. So, it’s up to the Mariners to play well to attract the 12’s over.
Drayer believes that if the Mariners are playing relevant games come August, the 12th Man will be fully on-board with the Mariners.
“As the summer goes on, as the weather warms up, school gets out and if they continue winning, I think you’ll see something pretty similar to what you saw over across the street.”