They turned out long before the M's were 'in'
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Right before a crucial pitch, they stand up with their cellphones and wave to the buddy they just called in the upper level. Their love for the game is less than their desire to be part of the scene — and to be seen.
They don't know Richie Zisk from Frank Zappa or if Rene Lachemann is male or female. They are bandwagon Seattle Mariners fans.
Skommesa, 60, a retired data processor from North Seattle, is an original season-ticket holder who has missed only 23 home games since the inaugural 1977 season. She endured 14 consecutive losing seasons, six last-place finishes and habitual threats by owners to move the team. She dealt with dashed hopes as supposed can't-miss phenoms — Al "Choo Choo" Chambers, Jim Maler and Darnell Coles — failed to shepherd the team out of its perennial funk. She suffered through the Maury Wills era.
You would think Skommesa would have a huge appreciation for the team's current run of on-field success. And you would be wrong.
"To be honest, I have happier memories of the early years," Skommesa says. "Sure, they're winning now and that should be more fun — and it is fun. But it's just not the same. The people who used to go to the games, those were real fans. Now, it's just kind of the thing to do."
She misses the days when it was in vogue not to care about the Mariners. She remembers fondly the small triumphs of the past: a triple play vs. Kansas City, the mild success of the 1982 team that finished 76-86 under manager Lachemann (male, by the way). She sat in the second row above the Mariners' third-base dugout with other long-suffering but loyal fans who became her friends.
"You could yell across the seats and be heard because no one was there," Skommesa says.
The 2002 Seattle Mariners who take the field today to begin the baseball season barely resemble Mariners teams of yore. For one, it's predicted that this year's team will have a postseason. Expectations are understandably high after last year's record-breaking 116-win regular season. The Mariners have made the playoffs four of the past seven years, and Lou Piniella is beginning his 10th year as manager, which is a feat of longevity for a franchise that had 10 managers in its first 16 years.
"I remember when we had our first winning season (in 1991) and I thought, 'Wow!' and then they fired the manager after the season," says Mike Ward, 37, of Renton, a season-ticket holder who has regularly attended games since 1986.
The recent spate of Mariner mojo doesn't erase the fact that the team has finished in the top half of the division only five times in its 25-year history — and never once before the magical year of 1995 when the Mariners streaked through September and made the playoffs for the first time.
"The 1995 season changed everything," says Merle Swenson, 64, another original season-ticket holder. "Everyone became a baseball fan. It's amazing how many people now say they saw everything prior to 1995 when there were only 6,000 or 7,000 going to games."
Ticket prices were low back then, too. The best seats in the house cost $5 in 1977.
"Yes, I know," Skommesa deadpans. Now, she pays $36 a game for seats with sight lines inferior to those she enjoyed at the Kingdome. Add $15 a game for parking and she spends more than $4,000 a year to satisfy her baseball urges. In the early days, she also rarely had to pay for parking because plenty of spaces were available along the street.
"I miss the Kingdome," Skommesa says. "You always knew how to dress. I felt at home there."
At the Kingdome, she would stay until the final pitch. At Safeco, she leaves games early because she can't stand to get stuck in postgame traffic.
Kirsten Morrison was happy to see the Kingdome implode. And she carries no shame about jumping on the Mariners' bandwagon. The 35-year-old used to attend San Francisco Giants games at Candlestick Park before moving north to Seattle 14 years ago but had no urge to watch indoor baseball. When Safeco Field opened, she became a fan of both the ballpark and the team.
"There's something about the whole experience of sitting in an outdoor baseball stadium, even when the roof is closed," she says.
Morrison considers herself as genuine a Mariners fan as those who have followed the team a lot longer than she has.
"I enjoy winning, but I still enjoy baseball even when we're losing," she says.
Swenson, who attended each of the Mariners' first 1,474 games but doesn't attend every game anymore, says the fans who recently jumped on the Mariners bandwagon seem sincere enough.
"They became fans overnight, or over a period of about two months in 1995, and each year since then they have stayed with it, to their credit," he says. "They are legitimate fans now, but a lot of them are the same people who couldn't have cared less if the team left town in 1994 or, for that matter, in early 1995."
Pat Leaf, 52, who has been a Mariners fan about 25 years, says the team's recent success has one major drawback: the days of buying tickets at the last minute and getting decent seats are just about over. She says she stood in line for four hours on the day single-game tickets went on sale this year and she still got shut out for Opening Day.
"All those fans who have come on board recently, I think that's great for the city, good for baseball and terrific for the Mariners," Leaf says. "But I do wish people would leave their cellphones at home."
Stuart Eskenazi can be reached at 206-464-2293 or seskenazi@seattletimes.com.