Whew. I’m glad that’s over. What a terrible year to be a sports fan in Washington.
Clay Bennett stole the Sonics, mediocrity doomed the Mariners and injuries robbed the Seahawks of any chance to send coach Mike Holmgren off in with a playoff appearance.
Now that 2008 is over, it’s time to look ahead and what better way than to give Washington sports teams (and fans) a few resolutions for 2009.
SEAHAWKS
Don’t panic
An injury spell such as the Seahawks experienced this season is cataclysmic, frustrating and impossible to overcome. Don’t blow this team up. There’s nothing more frustrating than hearing fans call in to sports radio shows and rail on about how the team should get rid of Matt Hasselbeck. Are you people serious? Hasselbeck was hurt from the preseason on. Back injuries take time to heal. There is no available quarterback that will give the Seahawks a better chance to win next year. Seattle gets the fourth overall pick in the draft, has a lot of talent coming back and still plays in the pitiful NFC West. A return to the playoffs next season is much more likely than another 4-12 season.
Embrace Jim Mora
Reports that Holmgren was nudged from his perch as the Seahawks coach, along with Jim Mora’s ridiculous flirtation with the University of Washington coaching job, have made the Seahawks coaching situation a little messy. With a talented (albeit 4-12) team, Mora should find some measure of success immediately as Seattle’s head coach.
MARINERS
Don’t rush things
It’s clear the Mariners need to rebuild. With fresh leadership in GM Jack Zduriencik and manager Don Wakamatsu, it might actually work out this time. Seattle is stuck because it unwisely signed declining players to expensive contracts and refused to embrace rebuilding mode last season. Stick with the kids, see what kind of talent you have and just accept the losses now. Signing Brad Wilkerson? Letting 34-year-old Miguel Cairo get 221 at bats when the season was already lost? No one wants to see another half-hearted attempt at competing like last season.
Forget about what could have been
Sure, Tim Lincecum is local. He is good, too. We know. The Mariners shot themselves in both feet by letting the measuring tape tell them to draft Brandon Morrow instead of Lincecum. Two and a half years later, Lincecum has won a Cy Young, while Seattle has bounced Morrow around so much between the bullpen and rotation that his frustration is palpable. There’s no point in dwelling on past transgressions. Enjoy the show with Lincecum, it should be a great one, but don’t forget about Morrow. He’ll turn 24 this season and he looks like a burgeoning strikeout artist.
SONICS FANS
Move on
The state leadership did nothing, the NBA commissioner did nothing and ultimately the fans didn’t do enough. So the Sonics are gone. It’s time to let go. But also remember that letting go doesn’t mean forgetting. As a Sonics fan, it’s now your duty to hate that certain Oklahoma City team (a task made infinitely more enjoyable by the team’s current 3-29 record).
P.S. How sad was it to see the hardwood in the KeyArena when Gonzaga and the University of Connecticut met Dec. 20? Along the baseline, the floor used to read Seattle SuperSonics, now it simply reads Seattle, then a sloppily painted area covering what used to be the name of a proud franchise.
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
Win a meaningful game (football team)
Everyone expected a rebuilding season, but 2-11 was a little extreme. Butch T. Cougar wept on the sidelines many times (66-3 loss to California, 69-0 loss to USC, 58-0 loss to Stanford, etc.) and the only thing that stopped the Cougars from being the worst major-conference football team in recent history was a win over the Huskies. Going into his second season, coach Paul Wulff has to make some big strides to avoid unrest in Pullman.
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Win a game (football team)
Get better fast, schedule a patsy (it worked for the Cougars twice this season), just do something to get a win. I love watching the Huskies go down in flames, but even I have a limit. The Apple Cup just doesn’t carry the same cache when both teams are rotten.
