The Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field

Today I took in my first Seattle Mariners game and even though the M’s walked away with a loss, it was one really great evening at the ballpark.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Being born and raised in the Vancouver area if the sport I’m watching doesn’t involve a puck or stick I usually don’t get that too excited. However when I moved to Boston I couldn’t help but fall in love with the Red Sox. Years later, having married a Cubs fan, baseball has become a summer afternoon tradition in our family. Heading to the ballpark (to watch the C’s play over at the Nat) or catching a game on WGN, allows for a slow, simple enjoyment of this pass time – even moreso if hotdogs are involved.

Venturing into Safeco I wasn’t sure what to expect and I had only previously been in that area to see DC United take on Real Madrid at Qwest Field a few years ago.

I have to make a note about the food selections at Safeco as there are so many varieties that was fairly reasonably priced based on location and portion size. You could have garlic fries, fried clams, grilled chicken burger, a taco salad, Thai food, sushi (with the keenly branded “Ichiroll”), and hot dogs. Caramel and candy apples seemed to be a favourite in our section and I had to cave and get soft serve in a tiny helmet (to match my Boston collection). There was even a woman walking around with a skewer of marshmallows and chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Safeco still seems like a fairly new building (just about 10 years old) but the folks in the stands (young and old) are all seasoned Mariners fans. The organization knows how to get the them going and they don’t need much prompting even when their team is not victorious.

Despite the lack of replay footage on the big screen and the three hour border line up to get down there, it was a lovely night out with friends and my man – the guy who always says, “root, root, root for the Cubbies,” during the 7th inning stretch… no matter what park we’re in (which I don’t really mind at all).