OLYMPIA, Wash. — What started as an online rant has turned into a meme, a song, and now, a trip to Seattle.
“Everyone in Seattle has been so cool,” Nicky Scarlotta said.
Scarlotta, a 23-year-old construction worker from Staten Island, New York, was upset in August when the Seattle Mariners beat his New York Yankees.
He aired his frustrations in a 12-second video on TikTok.
“Today was the first time in three years that my blood pressure was normal and guess what happens,” Scarlotta said in his TikTok, “Garrett Cole gives up six runs to the Seattle Mariners!”
It wasn’t just what he said, but how he said it.
His New York accent and pronunciation of the Seattle baseball team made his clip go viral on social media.
The Seattle Mariners sent Scarlotta a personalized jersey with “Marinahzzz” on the back.
“That was really dope,” Scarlotta said.
Seattle musician Rylie Nelson, from the band, Artificial Silence, wrote a song using Scarlotta's catchphrase as the chorus.
"That song was awesome," Scarlotta said. "All my boys up here love that."
Simply Seattle, a Seattle sports merchandise company, started printing t-shirts displaying “Marinahzz” across the front.
On Wednesday, Simply Seattle is paying for Scarlotta to visit Seattle for playoff-related events. For Thursday’s game, Scarlotta will be attending a watch party at Queen Anne Beer Hall.
He will be at Saturday’s game at T-Mobile Park and Sunday’s if the game is necessary.
In a tweet, Scarlotta said it will be his first trip to the West Coast.
“I’m going to bring that East Coast energy and let’s make sure the Mariners take care of the garbage can Astros,” tweeted Scarlotta.
He said he’s making some money off the T-shirts and for $5 he’s recording personal video messages for fans online. But Scarlotta said the best part of this experience has been the people.
“It's kind of just been like, the outreach and the support of the people in Seattle and Washington,” Scarlotta said. “Because I didn't expect them to, like, embrace me like this.”
A spokesperson for the Seattle Mariners said the team does not have any plans to include Scarlotta in Saturday’s game, at least not yet.
Scarlotta said he would love to throw out the first pitch.
“I'm a lefty," Scarlotta said. "I got a mean fastball. I'll tell you."