Get it Together Mariners

For the last several years I have attended the Mariners home opener with a group of friends. We take in the first game of the season at Safeco Field and revel in the optimism that still lives in the minds of baseball fans on those cold dark spring nights. For the last several years the game has been one of the few to actually sell out. It is an opportunity for the fans to cheer loudly for the home team stars. Generally it is an awesome experience.

Excitingly this year the Mariners home opener on April 6th will also be the season opener. This is the first time since 2008 that team will start the year in Seattle. Normally this would be reason for celebration, but the Mariners managed to screw up a good thing by scheduling the game at 1:00pm on a Monday. What a terrible decision by the Mariners. I mean downright awful. It makes a classic sporting event (the baseball opening day) inaccessible to the majority of the fans.

It is kind of like starting the season in Japan, but worse because instead of the team by on a different continent which completely inhibits the fan ability to attend, the game is here in Seattle. It is so close yet so far away. It will just be sitting there taunting us. Making us all curse our limited PTO stock piles.

Fans, who will be looking forward to seeing Felix, Cano, and Seager for the first time in 2015, will be forced to take time off work to see it live. I am sure some people will choose to miss work so they can see the M's play, but many wont be able to. I know I can't skip work to drive down to Sodo for a baseball game.

Additionally, because of the time of day, those of us that want to watch the festivities live wont be able to. The broadcast is right in the middle of the work day. Most jobs frown on employees watching TV while they work. These fans will be forced to record it and hope no one spoils the outcome before they get a chance to watch it. Coworkers, radio stations, and Facebook will all have to be avoided. If you don't a have a DVR or a functioning VCR and blank VHS tape you are just shit outta luck.

Instead of feeling like we are part of the festivities we are left feeling like we are being forced out of them. Shame on the Mariners for distancing their fans. Usually they are great at fan relations, but this time it was a total fail.