SEATTLE — It's the day M's fans have been waiting 194 days for and preparing for, walking back into T-Mobile park, sitting in the stands, eating a hot dog and cheering on the home team.
The first home game always fills the air in SODO with excitement.
The beginning of the Major League Baseball in the Pacific Northwest is a day when all seems new. A day when the troubles of years past seem small. And when hope springs eternal, there is no other sport, where the smells and the sound, are so unique.
Like the street drummer beating away to Phil Collins' hit song outside the park, there was something in the air Friday tonight. A certain rhythm, a belief that a little ditty, can turn into a soundtrack for the summer.
"You know, hopefully, it sets the tone for the rest of the season," said one fan.
Scenes from the Seattle Mariners' 2022 home opener
A tone that the Mariners finally believe they can be a number one smash, led by a frontman like Julio Rodríguez and a band new to town, who are looking to end a streak without a hitch.
Now that all the T's are crossed and I's are dotted, there is a question about how it all spells out, and whether the past is prologue, to this the season, like the grass, is still fresh.
But tomorrow there will only be those other two more words: Mariners win.