SEATTLE \u2014 Mariners Fans across Seattle and Washington state are still celebrating Friday night\u2019s end to a decades-long ALCS drought.<\/p>\n
Chuck Dula is a lifelong Mariners Fan who drove back into the area, where he grew up, to watch Game 5. <\/p>\n
Dula described the city as alive with excitement, \u201cI think the last time I remember this much excitement and this community sort of feel was when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl in 2014,\u201d he told KOMO News Saturday while buying some new Mariners merchandise.<\/p>\n
Dula said he\u2019s still riding the exhilarating high of the 15-inning win. It was the longest \u2018winner take all\u2019 game in Major League Baseball history at a whopping 4 hours and 58 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the loudest game I\u2019ve ever been to,\u201d Dula said.<\/p>\n
He said the win made him and others in the crowd emotional at times on Friday. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a playoff run that Mariners fans have been waiting decades for.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were people drinking beers in the stands that had never seen the Mariners win a playoff series,\u201d Dula exclaimed.<\/p>\n
\u201cLegally,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
But the celebrations can\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s right back to business for the Mariners with Game 1 of the ALCS against the Blue Jays set for Sunday evening in Toronto.<\/p>\n
Dula is feeling cautiously optimistic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a tough series, I mean they\u2019re a really good team, they handled the Yankees in four [games],\u201d he continued, \u201cBut, I think we have a good shot with our pitching staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Mariners fans watching the team\u2019s success from outside the Ballpark, BluWater Bistro in Seattle is offering a special deal for customers on game days.<\/p>\n
\u201cSave your receipts or credit card, proof of purchase. And, when, not if, the Mariners win the World Series, submit them back to us, and we\u2019re going to refund everybody all their money,\u201d explained Bart Evans, the restaurant\u2019s owner.<\/p>\n
Refunds would come in the form of a gift card.<\/p>\n
Evans originally only offered the deal for this past series against the Detroit Tigers, but after the Mariners continued success, he\u2019s decided to extend it through the upcoming ALCS.<\/p>\n
He told KOMO News he\u2019s seeing large crowds in his restaurant on game days.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so much fun for the community that people want to be around their neighbors or their friends and meet some place where it\u2019s got that energy,\u201d Evans said.<\/p>\n