Before anything else let's make one thing clear, it's not "soccer", dummy, it's called football because it's a sport played with the feet for about 99% of the time (unlike American football). And it's not only a sport. It's a religion. It's passion. Like one famous journalist once said, "Football is the most important thing amongst non-important things."
Everybody in Brazil has a team for which he or she will almost die for. There are several reasons why one may choose one team over another (parents and immediate family have a big influence on this) but that choice is made early in life and once made, it almost never changes.
Unlike the USA, large cities in Brazil have more than one professional football team in the major league (I will call it that because I don't want to get into the subject any deeper than it already is, discussing the division system and national and local championships). And cities like Sao Paulo (where I used to live) and Rio de Janeiro (the most beautiful place in the world if not for the dirty motherfucking slums growing like a cancer in the beautiful nature) have as many as four teams in the majors at the same time.
This leads to exacerbated rivalries within the same city and, of course, one's attachment to the team is made stronger by the proximity of rivals. Therefore, every football fan in Brazil is a passionate one. One whose mood depends a lot on the weekend football results. Their relationship with their loved team is like the one with their significant others. It's love, hate, happiness and sadness, all together, sometimes in the same match.
My team was Palmeiras, the greatest team in Brazilian history. I remember I cried like a baby when we won the Sao Paulo State Championship after 17 years without any titles. The icing on the cake was that the final match was against Corinthians, historically our most hated rival. I also cried when Palmeiras won the South American Championship in 1999. It was a wonderful game against some team from Colombia and everybody who wasn't a Palmeiras fan was rooting for the Colombians.
Even from far away, I regularly follow how my dear Palmeiras is doing. Of course I don't have the same intensity but I still get happy when they win a game, or when Corinthians or Sao Paulo (the favorite team for douche bags) lose a match.
When in Rome though...
In the Seattle area for about 7 years now, I got hooked on baseball and football (the American one). And, lucky me, the Mariners suck ever since I got here and the Seahawks, well, they're starting to suck now. Actually, I understand the only team to bring a title to Seattle were the Sonics, in 1979 (almost 30 years ago!), but to me that doesn't count much, since (a) I couldn't give a rat's ass about basketball and (b) the Sonics moved to Oklahoma last year.
Back in 2006, in SuperBowl XL, I remember telling my buddies that we should really enjoy the moment since it could be the last time in our lives we'd ever see a Seattle team in such situation. I wasn't that serious at that time but if I think about it, the possibility seems very real. The Cubs haven't won a World Series in 100 years, the Red Sox's drought lasted 86 years. It is very possible that I might not see the Mariners or the Seahawks win it all until I die!
In my opinion, we the fans are also to be blamed for the mediocrity that has victimized Seattle professional sports for such a long time. It's like we don't care. The Mariners can be 20 games out of the first place in July and the fans keep going to Safeco Field and singing "Take me out to the ball game" every 7th inning stretch, with a smile in their faces. I'm tempted to give the Seahawks a pass since they've at least been to the Super Bowl, but the Mariners just lost 100 games with a 100 million payroll! And people keep smiling! Whenever the Moose shows up in the stands at the ball park, children go and hug him and the proud parents take pictures, while drinking their $7 a bottle crappy beer. What's the reason for so much happiness??
That would never happen in Brazil, that would never happen with Palmeiras fans. Yes, we spent 17 years without a title, but those years were like hell for every player, coach or anybody who had anything to do with managing the team. We the fans let them know every game that we wouldn't accept such foolishness. We would protest in the stands, we would protest in the training centers, we would make sure they knew we were unhappy. And, I believe the percentage of Palmeiras fans decreased a lot during those years. Less fans, less revenue, it was something that everybody understood.
Sometimes, specially after a loss, the fans got so pissed off that physical altercation was iminent and the players and staff had to be protected by bodyguards to make it safely out of the ball park. Had Palmeiras had a mascot like the Moose during those years, probably that would be a very hard position to fill because people would be scared to death of being beaten up.
I'm not advocating violence here. I'm just asking Seattle sports fans to care a little bit more. As I see it, we're all pussies and this pussification is affecting our teams, mainly the Mariners. We should demand more because we deserve more. No more smiling when the team loses, not more Moose pictures, no more nicknames ending in "ie" or "y" (Jamie, Danny, Willie, Ichy, Yunny, Josie and I remember Dave Niehaus once addressing Richie Sexson as Sexie), no more singing "Take me out to the ball game" until they give us a ring!
By the way, we should get rid of Dave Niehaus and Rick Rizzs. Get us some hardcore announcers, people who will curse every time the team loses and criticize bad performance. Stop trying to see the positive side of everything (like Ichiro's 264 hits amidst another horrible season) and point out the mediocrity of our beloved Mariners.
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