Commentary: Familiar storylines continue to plague the Seattle sports landscape

There’s a word that’s been driving me crazy lately as a Seattle sports fan – a word we’ve all used and the teams themselves use many times to justify their "process." And that word… is patience. 

"Have patience." "Be patient." And yet, here we all are in early April, with storylines that are all too familiar. 

The Mariners are still struggling at the plate. The Seahawks still don’t have a competent offensive line. The Sounders are off to a slow start again. The Kraken are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs again. And even after the sale of the Boston Celtics, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver still won’t provide an update on potential expansion, leaving us to sit and wait even more for the return of the Sonics. 

There comes a point where these storylines get stale. A point where the idea of patience seems futile.

Dare I say we’re getting to the point where acting like Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka actually sounds appealing, because, frankly, "I don’t care. I want it NOW." (Although she said it better with a British accent)

So, what exactly do I want? I want a juggernaut of a team. I want a team that doesn’t just have some outside chance at winning a championship - I want the one who’s expected to win it all. I want our teams to actually listen to the fans and address their biggest needs rather than watching the same old storylines play out year after year. 

The term the kids use these days… is "mid." Average. Mediocre. And being a sports fan in Seattle right now is being surrounded by a ton of teams that are just…mid. 

I mean, the Sounders are 20-to-1 to win an MLS Cup. The Mariners are 25-to-1 to win a World Series. The Seahawks are 50-to-1 to win a Super Bowl. The Storm are 65-1 to win a WNBA title. The Kraken are out of the race for a Stanley Cup. 

And yes, the Sounders made the conference finals last year and the Seawolves made a championship game. But the point is, Seattle fans deserve better than what they’re getting right now. It’s a world-class city that has respectable teams that all seem to be stuck in some sort of rut, for whatever reason – injuries, trades, stubbornness, even greed. 

And the actual odds tell us, ultimate reward isn’t coming anytime soon.

Again, I apologize if this comes off as a venting session. But fans around here are desperate for a winner right now. They want to be excited. They don’t deserve to be let down. And while every local team will say "hey, stick with us, it’s coming," the longer it doesn’t, the less grace those fans will have – Adam Silver, I’m talking to you too. 

Give us a bonafide winner – a champion. And you’ll be rewarded in kind. 

But please don’t stay stuck in this malaise, because all that patience and goodwill is wearing incredibly thin.