It's officially been one year since I moved to the Emerald City. 12 months later, I've learned a few things:
- Don't ever tell anyone, under any circumstances, you were in a Starbucks at any point during your life. You will be judged and receive deathstares. Even if you're talking to them from inside a Starbucks.
- If you eat non-organic, non-local, factory-farmed food, you are worse than Hitler.
- Seattle fancies itself a football city that occasionally becomes a baseball city, dreams of once again being a basketball city but is in actuality a soccer city.
- Mount Rainer > Better Than Your Mount.
- If it snows even one inch in Seattle, you shouldn't even think about getting in your car. There's a 45% chance you'll end up looking like a jackass on YouTube.
As a Syracuse fan here in Rain City (we have a lot of nicknames), I've never felt comfortable rooting for the University of Washington. The Syracuse game aside, it just doesn't feel right. I've never been one to commit sports bigamy. Didn't do it in Los Angeles either. Root for the Dodgers/Lakers/Kings/Trojans/Bruins? Are you nuts?
That said, I've been wondering if I should throw my local support behind the Seattle University basketball team. They're a scrappy little bunch who just today gained acceptance into the WAC for the 2012/2013 season. I'd been considering this for a while and it seems like there's no better time to figure it out than right now.
I'm not talking about putting them on the same level as Syracuse. All I'm thinking is, when I'm bored and I've got nothing to do, it's okay for me to head down to Key Arena and watch the local version of SU beat the snot out of those jerks from Eastern Washington and feel like I have a rooting interest. Syracuse is where my passion lies, Seattle U is like a cute, little pet I get to hang out with in the downtime.
So let's figure out if it's a good idea...
Pros:
They're SU, also - Talk about fan synergy! I won't even have to change my basic cheering structure.
They've got a color-based tradition - I root for the orange, Seattle is the Redhawks. Orange and red touch each other on the rainbow, they're like brothers. But not the kind that touch each other...ugh.
They went through a de-Native Americanization of their mascot, too - Formerly known as The Chieftains (awesome), they changed to the Redhawks (meh) in 2000.
They play in Key Arena - From where I live, I could get to Key Arena door-to-door in about seven minutes, depending on traffic. It's closer than where the Huskies play. Furthermore, the Huskies are a tough ticket while cavernous Key Arena is no problem for Seattle games.
Syracuse vs. Seattle unlikely - I highly doubt my loyalties will be tested anytime soon. Seattle does not have a football team and the basketball team isn't likely to schedule the Orange anytime soon. If the Orange are going to trek it out here, it's going to be to play Washington, not Seattle U. About the only way these two paths will cross would be in the NCAA Tournament and I wouldn't bet too heavily on the Redhawks (11-20 last season) anytime soon.
Scouting purposes - I don't expect the Orange to play the Redhawks anytime soon but perhaps Syracuse could see a few similar opponents on their schedule? The Hawks schedule rather strong all things considered, having hosted Oregon State and played at Maryland this past year. They've played Washington, Utah, Marquette and Oklahoma State in the recent past as well. Now that they'll be playing in the WAC, the chances of crossover rises even more.
They've got history - Believe it or not, they've actually been to the NCAA Title game before. Elgin Baylor led the Chieftains to the championship game of the 1958 NCAA Tournament, where they fell to the Kentucky Wildcats. So, that's something.
Good, cheap fun - I can game game-day tickets for as low as $12. Now that's family entertaining the whole...uh...family can enjoy.
Cons:
Sports bigamy - It's a cardinal sin to many. Should I really be splitting my loyalties in any direction? Even if its 99% Orange, 1% Redhawk?
They're Jesuits - So is Georgetown. And Marquette. And Boston College. Yikes.
The whole Red thing - As much as orange and red are neighbors, it's all a little close to St. John's.
So...what say you?