The Seattle Mariners are on the brink of making the postseason for the first time since 2001. Why isn’t the whole city going wild like it did back in 1995?

Things are different now: The Seahawks just won the Super Bowl.

I can’t read the minds of millions of Seattle sports fans — only a few dozen at a time — and I can’t talk to every one of them, but that seems to be the reality. Finally, Seattleites have gotten a taste of true athletic success.

The mere possibility of making the playoffs just isn’t enough to get Seattle fans excited anymore. At least not now, during the Super Bowl honeymoon, and especially not while Seahawks football is back under way.

The M’s are, at the time of this post, a half-game behind Detroit for the second American League wild card slot. The Oakland A’s, after their daytime loss to the White Sox on Thursday, sit one full game ahead of the Tigers in the first wild card position and remain 1.5 games ahead of the Mariners in the A.L. West.

Seattle is right in the thick of it. And there are just 17 games remaining on the M’s regular-season schedule.

Only six of them are at home.

Mariners fans should be flocking to Safeco Field, but Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to Houston drew an announced attendance of just 16,931 — including however many season-ticket holders didn’t actually show up. Of course, it was a series against the lowly Astros …

Overall, attendance to home games has been trending upward. Not one game in Seattle’s previous homestand (versus Texas and Washington) drew fewer than 20,000 fans. More than 35,000 crashed the King’s Court on Friday, Aug. 29. Safeco Field, however, can hold 47,476 people for baseball.

If there’s ever a time for Mariners fans to spend their hard-earned cash going to a ballgame, it’s this weekend, when the M’s host the A’s for a high-stakes, three-game series. The Mariners have a chance to prove themselves a worthy playoff team, and beat down a division rival and wild-card competitor while they’re at it.

Elsewhere in the division, the Los Angeles Angels boast the best record in baseball and, barring an epic collapse, are all but a lock for the playoffs. If they remain atop baseball, the Halos would host the winner of the A.L. wild card game, which is scheduled for Sept. 30.

If Seattle makes it to the wild card game (and that’s a big “if”) and if they win it (another big “if”), they would likely travel to Anaheim.

Those big “ifs” are another reason Seattle fans aren’t channeling their Sodo Mojo like they did in ’95. Seattle fans have been trained over the course of the past 13 years to expect little from their professional baseball team.

Sure, “you gotta love these guys,” but fans don’t gotta love a franchise that has a history of letting fans down — even in the playoffs, as they did in 2001 when the team won 116 regular-season games but couldn’t make it to the World Series.

Despite a surprisingly successful 2014 season, and despite the M’s becoming a darling underdog to the rest of the nation, Seattle fans still haven’t bought in to this ballclub.

Mariners fans have been conditioned to expect failure rather than success. Too many people have asked me, “Do you think they really can do it?”

Even in crunch time, as the games have gotten more and more important, the Mariners have continued to struggle on offense and, in recent weeks, have uncharacteristically struggled on the mound. Even Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma have slumped, and the league’s best bullpen has shown weaknesses.

Seattle sports fans won’t be convinced the Mariners are for real until, well, they are for real. The Mariners must make the postseason before fans rush the Safeco gates.

As a native, I know our dirty little secret: Seattle fans are fair-weather fans.

Particularly with the insanely popular Seahawks playing again across the street, the Mariners have quite the challenge ahead of them: Recapturing the hearts of Seattle’s sports fanatics. It hasn’t happened yet this season and it won’t until the M’s are relevant again.

They’re not quite there yet. But if they do make the playoffs, they’ll be well on their way.

The gallery below was written Tuesday before Seattle’s two-consecutive losses to the Astros.









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Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Image 2 of 13 Why we’re optimistic: Young guns throwing heat The funny thing about Young and Iwakuma’s problematic past six starts? The team is 5-1 in those games. And while the veterans might not be playing their best ball right now, the M’s young hurlers seem to be picking up the slack. The best of them has been James Paxton, 25, who is 4-3 with a 1.76 ERA in seven starts since returning from injury in August. Fellow rookie Roenis Elias has also pitched well in that span. Pitching with an occasional start off, the 26-year-old Cuban has a 2.30 ERA over 31.1 innings since Aug. 1. And top prospect Taijuan Walker has been outstanding since his September call-up, sporting a 1.23 ERA in 7 1/3 relief innings. With those three young arms, the M’s staff looks primed for a stretch run. less Why we’re optimistic: Young guns throwing heat The funny thing about Young and Iwakuma’s problematic past six starts? The team is 5-1 in those games. And while the ... more Photo: Otto Greule Jr / Getty Images Image 3 of 13 Why we’re pessimistic: Zunino running out of steam At the beginning of the season, catcher Mike Zunino looked like he might be on his way to an All-Star berth in his first full campaign in the big leagues. But while the future is still bright for the 23-year-old slugger, he’s struggled mightily since the All-Star break, sporting batting averages of .143 in August and .118 in September, while hitting just three of his 20 home runs over the past 26 games. The 2012 first-round pick has seemingly hit the wall this season, and that shouldn’t come as a surprise. After appearing in 52 games in the majors his rookie season of 2013, Zunino has already played in 114 this year. Maybe the M’s can’t expect much more out of their young backstop this season. less Why we’re pessimistic: Zunino running out of steam At the beginning of the season, catcher Mike Zunino looked like he might be on his way to an All-Star berth in his first ... more Photo: Otto Greule Jr / Getty Images Image 4 of 13 Why we’re optimistic: Promising platoon at short After beating out Nick Franklin for the starting shortstop position, Brad Miller was expected to be one of the M’s long-term building blocks, teaming up with Robinson Cano to give Seattle a potent middle infield. But the 24-year-old got off to a disastrous start, and after rebounding with a very strong month of June, he slumped again in July, finishing the month hitting .201 for the season. That led to the M’s calling up prospect Chris Taylor, a Triple-A All-Star at Tacoma hitting .328 over 75 games with the Rainiers. Taylor, also 24, made an immediate impact with the M’s, hitting .310 over his first 30 games. Taylor has struggled a bit over the past two weeks, but Miller — to his credit — responded well to the shakeup with a .333 average over 20 games in August and September. Whether it’s Taylor or Miller in the lineup, the M’s look to have a solid situation at shortstop. less Why we’re optimistic: Promising platoon at short After beating out Nick Franklin for the starting shortstop position, Brad Miller was expected to be one of the M’s ... more Photo: Otto Greule Jr / Getty Images Image 5 of 13 Image 6 of 13 Why we’re pessimistic: Rodney playing with fire The Mariners’ bullpen has been a strength of the club since the start of the season, with Seattle currently leading the majors with a 2.41 ERA over 429 1/3 innings pitched. Closer Fernando Rodney — the major-league leader with 44 saves — has been a big part of that success. But many of Rodney’s appearances this year haven’t been healthy for M’s fans’ nerves. Since the All-Star break, the 37-year-old has allowed an average of 1.6 batters to reach base per inning; not exactly the kind of dominating performances you’d hope from your closer during a playoff run. In those appearances, Rodney has tallied only one blown save and two losses against 17 saves, but you have to think his luck will run out at some point. less Why we’re pessimistic: Rodney playing with fire The Mariners’ bullpen has been a strength of the club since the start of the season, with Seattle currently leading the ... more Photo: Rich Gagnon / Getty Images Image 7 of 13 Why we’re optimistic: Rest of bullpen cold-blooded While it’s true that Rodney has flirted with disaster more often than Mariners fans would like, the rest of the Seattle relievers have been rock steady: Tom Wilhelmsen, Danny Farquhar, Dominic Leone, Yoervis Medina, Joe Beimel and Charlie Furbush have combined for a 2.36 ERA over 324 innings. Youngster Brandon Maurer — 1-4, 5.00 ERA in 32 appearances — is the only M’s reliever with an ERA over 3.69 in more than 20 innings pitched. The most impressive — and surprising — of the group has been Wilhelmsen, 30, who has thrived in his relief role after flaming out as a closer for the M’s last season. With that group bridging the gap between the steady group of starters and Rodney, Seattle has a chance to contend in every game they play. less Why we’re optimistic: Rest of bullpen cold-blooded While it’s true that Rodney has flirted with disaster more often than Mariners fans would like, the rest of the ... more Photo: Leon Halip / Getty Images Image 8 of 13 Why we’re pessimistic: Falling stars The Mariners’ offense has depended on Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager and Dustin Ackley (to a lesser extent) for run production, but all three have question marks heading into the final three weeks. Cano, 31, just finished his second-worst month in a Seattle uniform. OK, so he still hit .305 with a season-high five home runs. Seager, on the other hand, legitimately struggled in August, hitting below .272 for the first time since a horrible April. The 26-year-old still managed to slug four homers — and already has three in September — but with little room for error, the M’s need him at his best down the stretch. Ackley, who is hitting .291 since the All-Star break, hasn’t been derailed by any performance issues, but by the injury bug. The 26-year-old has been bothered by ankle issues over the past couple of days and may miss more time after an MRI revealed the presence of bone spurs. less Why we’re pessimistic: Falling stars The Mariners’ offense has depended on Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager and Dustin Ackley (to a lesser extent) for run production, but all ... more Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Image 9 of 13 Why we’re optimistic: Deep thoughts Ackley’s injury certainly hurts, but it comes at a time when the rest of the team is getting healthy. And with Michael Saunders once again roaming the Seattle outfield after an extended absence, the Mariners could weather Ackley’s absence far easier than they could have earlier in the season. Since the trade deadline acquisitions of designated hitter Kendrys Morales and outfielders Austin Jackson and Chris Denorfia, and the September call-ups of outfielders Stefen Romero and James Jones and DH/first-basemen Corey Hart and Justin Smoak, the M’s at least have options — if not world-beaters — in the lineup. They’ll certainly need Cano, Seager and (eventually) Ackley for a postseason run, but the club has gotten contributions from such unlikely sources as backup catcher Jesus Sucre and journeyman outfielder Endy Chavez to pick up wins they otherwise might not have. less Why we’re optimistic: Deep thoughts Ackley’s injury certainly hurts, but it comes at a time when the rest of the team is getting healthy. And with Michael Saunders once ... more Photo: Otto Greule Jr / Getty Images Image 10 of 13 Image 11 of 13 Why we’re pessimistic: Tough sledding Seattle’s schedule over the final three weeks features series against three divisional foes — the Astros, A’s and Angels — as well as the Toronto Blue Jays. The Angels sit atop the American League with the best record in baseball, while the A’s find themselves in a dogfight for the postseason with the M’s, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers. The Mariners’ remaining opponents are a combined 37 games over .500 (take away the Astros and the three teams left over are 55 games over). Any way you look at it, that’s a tough row to hoe for a shot at a playoff berth. And it’s not like the M’s will be able to make their wild-card run from the friendly confines of Safeco Field. Eleven of the club’s remaining 19 games will be on the road in front of hostile fans who presumably don’t want to see Seattle’s dangerous pitching staff anywhere near their team in the postseason. less Why we’re pessimistic: Tough sledding Seattle’s schedule over the final three weeks features series against three divisional foes — the Astros, A’s and Angels — ... more Photo: Harry How / Getty Images Image 12 of 13 Why we’re optimistic: Road warriors While it’s true the Mariners have a tough remaining slate of games, there are several reasons to be optimistic. First, while the A.L. West has proven to be one of baseball’s most competitive divisions — the only division with three teams with at least 79 wins — Seattle is 25-17 against its remaining divisional foes. In fact, the only A.L. West rival against whom they have a losing record was the last-place Texas Rangers, who finished their season series with a 10-9 advantage over the M’s. And as far as the Blue Jays go, the Mariners had their number in their only series this season, outscoring them 19-4 while sweeping a three-game series in August. While playing on the road might be a problem for some clubs, that’s certainly not the case for McClendon’s Mariners, who have an A.L.-best 42-28 record away from home this season. less Why we’re optimistic: Road warriors While it’s true the Mariners have a tough remaining slate of games, there are several reasons to be optimistic. First, while ... more Photo: Otto Greule Jr / Getty Images Image 13 of 13 Where's the playoff hype for the Seattle Mariners? 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

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