SEATTLE — Mariners Fans across Seattle and Washington state are still celebrating Friday night’s end to a decades-long ALCS drought.
Chuck Dula is a lifelong Mariners Fan who drove back into the area, where he grew up, to watch Game 5.
Dula described the city as alive with excitement, “I 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,” he told KOMO News Saturday while buying some new Mariners merchandise.
Dula said he’s still riding the exhilarating high of the 15-inning win. It was the longest ‘winner take all’ game in Major League Baseball history at a whopping 4 hours and 58 minutes.
“It was the loudest game I’ve ever been to,” Dula said.
He said the win made him and others in the crowd emotional at times on Friday.
It’s a playoff run that Mariners fans have been waiting decades for.
“There were people drinking beers in the stands that had never seen the Mariners win a playoff series,” Dula exclaimed.
“Legally,” he added.
But the celebrations can’t last long.
It’s right back to business for the Mariners with Game 1 of the ALCS against the Blue Jays set for Sunday evening in Toronto.
Dula is feeling cautiously optimistic.
“It’s going to be a tough series, I mean they’re a really good team, they handled the Yankees in four [games],” he continued, “But, I think we have a good shot with our pitching staff.”
For Mariners fans watching the team’s success from outside the Ballpark, BluWater Bistro in Seattle is offering a special deal for customers on game days.
“Save 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’re going to refund everybody all their money,” explained Bart Evans, the restaurant’s owner.
Refunds would come in the form of a gift card.
Evans originally only offered the deal for this past series against the Detroit Tigers, but after the Mariners continued success, he’s decided to extend it through the upcoming ALCS.
He told KOMO News he’s seeing large crowds in his restaurant on game days.
“It’s so much fun for the community that people want to be around their neighbors or their friends and meet some place where it’s got that energy,” Evans said.
For fans hoping to watch a Game 1 win on the road, Alaska Airlines has added a direct flight from SeaTac to Toronto at 7:18 a.m. on Sunday.