The Mariners Game at Brick West: The ups and downs of watching your favorite team lose

Game 7. It strikes equal fear and jubilation in the hearts of fans and naysayers.

From the first pitch to the final inning, Seattle Mariners fans adorned in team spirit sloshed their alcohol around after a good hit, cried out to the heavens in anguish when the Toronto Blue Jays scored a run and bit their nails into the ninth inning.

Claps and cheers erupted at Brick West Brewing in downtown Spokane when Josh Naylor hit an RBI-single that paved the way for Julio Rodriguez to scurry home for the first run of the game. One man in a neon green hoodie jovially tossed his baby in the air.

But unfortunately for the fans at Brick West, Toronto had an answer of their own. By the bottom of the first, groans and moans of disappointed die-hard Mariners fans bounced from table to table as outfielder Daulton Varsho hit a single to bring George Springer across home plate to tie. The Mariners hit back to the exhilaration of fans, when Rodriguez hit his fourth home run of the post season to put the Mariners back up by one.

Gabby Dansereau, 27, is one such steadfast fan. Her cousin, Jacob, died three years ago and for his celebration of life, everyone in the Dansereau family wore a Mariners jersey with their last name and the number five emblazoned on the back. They chose that specific number because Jacob was born on Cinco De Mayo. Dansereau wore that jersey during Monday’s game at Brick West.

“I don’t care what it’s gonna take,” she said, “But I really want to get my cousin, my aunt, my uncle some tickets to go so they can honor their son and watch them play a World Series. It might make me go into debt, but it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Dansereau said her favorite Mariners player is pitcher Cal Raleigh. She and most of her friends know Raleigh by a different name though – Big Dumper.

At the start of the fourth inning, it was Raleigh, who smashed a towering home run into the stands to put the Mariners up 3-1. As Raleigh lifted the Mariner’s golden trident high above his head after the homer, the fans at Brick West raised their palms and drinks to the ceiling in a similar fashion.

“Somehow our catcher is hitting 60 home runs, so that’s a big one,” said Aaron Creager, when asked what was different about this year’s playoff run compared to all the rest.

Creager works in cyber security and has been a fan of the Mariners since he attended his first game at age 13. He’s slowly converting his girlfriend, Rachel Micheud, into a baseball fan. She’s originally from Indiana, and since they don’t have a team in the Hoosier State, Creager said he’s been easing her into Mariners fandom during the last couple of years.

He said this year was one of the most well-rounded teams he’s ever seen. Unlike years past, Creager said the Mariners actually spent money on acquiring good players and it seems to have worked. But, as he said before the start of the fifth inning, the team just needs more offense.

“We need base hits because we can always swing for the benches,” Creager said. “It’s hard to get guys in when you’re not consistently hitting home runs.”

With glossy eyes filled with hope and wide smiles bearing the promise of victory, the Campanella’s have been fans of baseball all their lives.

Joey Campanella, 17, plays shortstop at Lewis and Clark High School and said that the Mariners have had great teams in the past, but were always missing key pieces. This year, though, he believed they had exactly what it takes to make it to the World Series. Still, he stressed it’s important to take it one game at a time.

“Blue Jays are also such a stacked team,” he said. “I mean, (George) Springer is insane and so is (Vladimir) Guerrero.”

Less than two minutes after uttering those words, Springer hit a three-run shot just as Campanella spoke about how Raleigh was a lock for MVP. Now down 4-3, the energy inside Brick West shifted from cheerful excitement to nervous nail-biting.

After witnessing such treachery at bat, Campanella’s jaw dropped, his palm turned upwards in apprehension and he said simply: “Yea, that’s the guy I was worried about.”

Joey Campanella’s parents, Ryan and Kate Campanella, shared in his disappointment as the game began to wind down. The couple said they’ve both been fans for 44 years, as long as they’ve been alive. The fourth member of the Campanella family, 10-year-old Gianna, used her time at Brick West to read a book. From time to time, she looked up after a big play to either express disappointment or mirror her parents elation, depending on the play.

Needless to say, Springer’s hit siphoned a lot of energy out of Brick West. But, win or lose, the whole Campanella family said that Monday night was still a special time for them. For Ryan Campanella, it was the first time he’s seen his favorite baseball team make it this far since he was in college 24 years ago.

At the top of the ninth inning, when most hope felt lost, the crowd at Brick West prayed for a miracle, or at least for someone to get on base as Rodriguez stepped up to bat with two outs and Raleigh on deck. When he struck out, faces dropped, frowns grew and people pondered what could’ve been.

But hope for next year, still remains.

“They got as far as they’ve ever been, but it’s still heartbreaking,” said Kylie Casselberry, a 33-year-old lifelong fan. “But, Go Mariners! I really hope that next year they do just as well … I feel like they have the right pieces, I really do, but maybe they needed just a little more experience.”