Posted Thursday/July 1, 1999; 3:56 p.m. PDT

Seattle IS a Cool Sports Town! Once the Kingdome is gone and the Seahawks’ stadium is standing tall across the street from Safeco Field, the Emerald City will be the country's Crown Jewel. However, it would be just “a little” cooler if the NCAA Tourney was slated to come back again, right? It would have been cool if Seattle had made a bid to become an Olympic city. Just throwing its hat in the ring would have meant the city wasn't losing vision as it enters the 21st Century, wouldn't it? Fans have already started worrying that in a couple of years people will be saying, “Seattle would be a COOLER sports town if the Mariners still had Ken Griffey, Jr. and Alex Rodriguez!”

Baseball's Best Player!

Now that Seattle has Safeco Field, the Mariners MUST have Junior AND A-Rod!! Don’t forget it wasn't THAT long ago everyone was visualizing Randy Johnson throwing Mariner Heat, Opening Night at the Safe. Things can (and do) change fast! But the changes are only fast to the Fans since we’re out of the loop and powerless to make a change once we’re in it. That’s the beauty of the Mariner owners' “$60 million curve ball!” Seattle Sports Fans are COMPLETELY in the loop and FOR THE FIRST TIME, have the means of UNITING to take a stance and make a change!

Baseball's Top 40/40!

By RALLYING now, Seattle Sports Fans lay claim to the future. By standing up to the Mariner owners NOW, we will be ready to stand up to them LATER when they try to trade the “best player in baseball” and/or its “best 40/40 man!” [The Mariners HAD the “best pitcher in baseball” too, didn't they?] We all know there is no logic in getting “sold” the best ballpark in the country then getting “sold out” on the players that we want to watch play in it!

Mariner Fans don’t have to be psychic to see what’s down the road. But we DO need to be organized to have a proactive say in the matter! A “$top $afeco MADNE$$! protest” is a preemptive strike. The Safe is already not the same without the Big Unit on the mound for the M’s. That's NOT how the blueprints read when things got started. But Safeco REALLY won’t be the same with Griffey and/or Rodriguez out of Mariner blue! What kind of 2001 MLB All-Star Game will it be watching “three former Mariner, Super Stars playing in Safeco”? A game Mariner Fans would rue for years to come, that’s what kind of game it will be.

Too bad Seattle Sports Fans weren’t organized to keep the NCAA hoop tourney returning to Key Arena. Unfortunately the powers that be, made the decision for us that meant the Olympics will not be coming to this great region anytime soon. Cool Sports Towns need Cool Sports Fans to KEEP things Cool! Seattle Sports Fans have a unique opportunity to become one of the “powers that be.” A unique opportunity to show the rest of the country how Cool Sports Fans can UNITE and be involved in the running of Cool Sports Towns in the 21st Century!

Opening Night