SEATTLE – Some sports weekends are worth celebrating.
Not just because a team or two won, but because they did something that’s never been done. Because, here especially, it doesn’t happen nearly enough. Because so many segments of this city were simultaneously satisfied.
In an uncommonly cathartic 72-hour span …
The Mariners sailed into Houston and swept the Astros, banishing the boogeyman who hid under their bed. They did so with a flurry of dramatic flourishes – as right fielder Victor Robles flew through the sky to snare Carlos Correa’s sinking liner, then doubled Jake Meyers off second base to seal Saturday’s 6-4 win. Catcher Cal Raleigh also clubbed his 57th homer, passing Ken Griffey Jr. for the single-season franchise record, before adding another in a despondent Daikin Park. The Mariners (finally) rose to the moment, vanquished their villain and claimed control of the AL West.
The Huskies avenged last season’s goal-line stand with a 59-24 Apple Cup win over Washington State. UW produced the most points by either team in the series’ 117 meetings, outscoring the Cougs 28-0 in a furious fourth-quarter finish. Coach Jedd Fisch earned his first road win as a Husky in emphatic fashion. UW quarterback Demond Williams Jr. also dazzled in his starting Apple Cup debut, compiling 386 total yards and five touchdowns.
The Seahawks dropped a special teams hammer on the scuffling Saints, as Tory Horton’s team-record 95-yard punt return touchdown proved the highlight in Sunday’s 44-13 win. Seattle scored on its first seven possessions for the first time in team history, while quarterback Sam Darnold took a perfect passer rating into halftime. In fact, the Seahawks’ 38 first-half points were the third-most in any half for the franchise. After going 1-7 in their last eight games at Lumen Field, the 2-1 Seahawks served their fans some overdue domination.
In each case, there was a record and a reckoning.
When asked Saturday to name his favorite play from the Apple Cup, Williams smiled and said: “All of them, honestly.”
For Seattle sports fans, that might apply to the wider weekend.
Because this was a hailstorm of happy highlights. Take the Mariners’ quartet of solo homers Friday, led by Eugenio Suárez’s blast that disappeared above the Crawford Boxes. Or UW standouts Jonah Coleman and Denzel Boston combining for five touchdowns in the cross-state clobbering. Or backup Seahawks safety D’Anthony Bell, who had just been elevated off the practice squad, sprinting untouched to block a first-quarter punt. Or Mariners reliever Gabe Speier entering with runners on second and third base and a two-run lead Saturday and blowing three fastballs by slugger Christian Walker. Or J.P. Crawford, the longest-tenured Mariner, golfing a grand slam Sunday that may have effectively extinguished the Astros.
There were literally too many to list.
Which, to reiterate, doesn’t often happen here, in a sports city that has experienced more suffering than success. The only MLB team never to appear in a World Series plays in Seattle, where it’s hosted a single playoff game since 2001. The Seahawks’ most infamous play is a goal-line interception that lost the Super Bowl. The Sonics were unceremoniously stolen in 2008, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are the reigning NBA champions.
You’ve withstood that suffering to be here, to bask in the success.
Granted, it could have been even better. Mariners ace Bryan Woo left Friday’s start because of minor inflammation in his pectoral muscle, slightly marring the series-opening win. The Storm parted ways with coach Noelle Quinn on Sunday, three days after a devastating 74-73 loss to the Las Vegas Aces ended their season. The Sounders surrendered a goal in the 96th minute of a 2-1 loss at Austin FC on Sunday, the previously streaking club’s second consecutive defeat.
It was not a perfect weekend.
But it’s still worth celebrating.
That celebration can be summarized by Seahawks special teamer Chazz Surratt, who pulverized Saints punter Kai Kroeger, then raised both arms as Horton headed for the end zone. Or Speier, who bellowed assumed expletives after blowing away Walker on Saturday. Or Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor, who earlier bat-flipped a bases-loaded walk. Or Williams, who handed out high-fives to Husky fans after personally emptying Martin Stadium.
If ever there was a Monday to wear your jersey to work, this is the one.
Because, heck, fireworks shows don’t last forever. The Mariners are poised to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022, with their magic number at three to win the AL West. After two consecutive victories, the Seahawks travel to Arizona for an NFC West collision with the Cardinals on Thursday night. At 3-0, the Huskies will attempt to extend their 22-game home winning streak Saturday in a colossal encounter with No. 1 Ohio State. In each case, another grand slam isn’t guaranteed.
Maybe last weekend is the beginning of something bigger, or maybe it’s a blip.
Either way, it happened. For now, that’s enough.