Seattle is Playoff City

Matt Baide | Apr 13, 20230

Being a fan of Seattle sports has its ups and downs, but within the last calendar year have had a lot more to cheer for than not.

The Seattle Kraken has clinched its first berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in only its second season. The Kraken made some improvements in the offseason by acquiring some key players this season, including Andre Burakovsky, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Martin Jones, and bringing up the first ever draft pick by the Kraken, Matty Beniers. These players added to the core already established and the recipe was the first trip to the playoffs.

Looking back on the past 12 months, Seattle sports teams have had quite a run, and it has allowed me to be appreciative of this moment, because there will be years where this is not the case.

The Seattle Sounders won the first CONCACAF title by an MLS team and competed in the FIFA Club World Cup in February, and its title will allow the Sounders to compete in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup when it expands. The Sounders were the only Seattle team to not qualify for the league playoffs, but still won a title.

The Seattle Storm had one last run with Sue Bird and Brianna Stewart, making it to the WNBA semifinals before losing to the Las Vegas Aces in four games, 3-1. It was the end of an era as Bird won four titles and Stewart won two titles with the Storm. Bird retired and Stewart signed with the New York Liberty as a free agent, so it will be interesting to see what the Storm looks like when the season starts next month.

The Seattle Mariners broke its 20-year playoff drought last season, ending at the time the longest postseason drought in professional sports. It didn’t look great early, but a 14-game winning streak going into the All-Star break helped get the Mariners going, and a Cal Raleigh walk-off home run to clinch the postseason is a clip I will continue to watch for the rest of my life. Not only did they make the playoffs, they won the wild card playoff series against the Toronto Blue Jays, but then lost to the eventual World Series champion Houston Astros.

After such a long drought, the Mariners have a big year coming up hosting the All-Star game in July and T-Mobile Park hosting the Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights in the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day.

The Seattle Seahawks surprised everyone in the 2022-23 season by going 9-8 and making the playoffs. Geno Smith didn’t write back to his critics and led the Seahawks to the postseason, losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild card round.

And a shoutout to the Seattle Seawolves, the rugby team from Seattle you might not know about. They almost won a third Major League Rugby title last season, but lost in the championship match to Rugby New York.

There’s a lot of debate over what makes a team successful, whether it’s wins, playoff appearances, conference championships or championships, having elite players, coaches and facilities. Looking at the list above, it’s hard to argue against Seattle sports being unsuccessful, because winning games and a chance at winning a championship is what teams strive for.

So enjoy this past year for what it has been, because while there was just one title, there is plenty to cheer for in Seattle.