Anytime there's a major sports event in the city of Seattle, Shohei Ohtani might be name-dropped once or twice.
The Angels star has been rumored to join the Seattle Mariners next season for what feels like millennia now. Ohtani basically ghosted the Angels in the regular season and is gearing up for his eponymous season, "The Winter of Shohei Ohtani", in which the two-way phenom finally finds his next home.
With the MLB postseason still underway, one Mariners fan wanted to remind Ohtani he was still very much desired in Seattle. On ESPN's broadcast of "College GameDay" on Saturday morning, the camera crews set up in Seattle showed a fan holding up a neon orange sign that read, "Ohtani come to Seattle".
Straight and to the point. That fan wasn't using any more magic marker than he needed to.
Mariners fans are relentlessly hounding Shohei Ohtani
The talk of Saturday wasn't where Ohtani will end up this free agency. It was a preview of the Oregon-Washington game that pits two top-ranked playoff-caliber teams against each other.
No. 8 Oregon is playing No. 7 Washington on the road. It is currently halftime with the Huskies up 22-18. The Pac-12 showdown between Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. is touted to be one of the most exhilarating college football games this weekend, even if Oregon's "Cookies 'N Cream" jerseys are downright egregious. We're not fans of the splatter, but maybe you are.
But just to understand the extreme measures to which the Mariners fanbase will go to, let's get this straight. In Seattle's Husky Stadium, where an entirely different sport is being played, and while the MLB postseason is still going on, a Mariners fan thought this was the perfect time to recruit Ohtani. For even the slightest chance that Ohtani turns on his television, sees the orange sign, and is in that moment persuaded to sign with the Mariners.
Shooter shoot, and one has to applaud the perseverance and resilience of the fans who saw their team's playoff hopes slip through their fingers at the last second.
