The stadium's ridiculous rules have eliminated the fans' ability to express themselves.

Now the team only gets the fans they deserve.

This is why I vastly prefer going to Seahawks or Sounders games, where you are actually allowed to, you know, cheer for your team. The Mariner fan experience at Safeco is so neutered and bland.

I was at the game with my kids (around age 10 or so) in 2001 when the Marines clinched their playoff spot (early in September).

The people in the row in front of us complained that we were clapping and cheering too loudly.

Some Seattle fans are pathetic and should just stay home and watch on television.

I don't buy this story. There'd be no Red Sox fans left in Safeco during Boston series, if this was the case.

Also, I spent an entire game yelling at Chone Figgins two seasons ago, about two rows back from where he used to play for the Angels at third base. Ironic, now, but still...

One of my favorite moments at Safeco was joining in with the entire section behind the left field manual scoreboard, in yelling to Rickey Henderson until he finally turned and tipped his cap to us, in 2000.

A few years back at Safeco Field I yelled "the Bronx is a dump" to the Yankee bullpen, and was promptly told by an usher not to use "abusive language". The stadium itself is pretty awesome, but the rules, the fans and the insidious "entertainment" (boat races, hat trick, etc) are often dreadful.

As for Cubs fans, most are too fat and/or drunk to stand up anyhow.

I only got to see the M's at the Kingdome for about two years before they moved to Safeco, but I'm pretty sure this wouldn't have happened there. The fans were more fun then, too, especially when Edgar would come up to bat.

Baseball is a dead rotting corpse. Send the Mariners to Oklahoma City to keep the ex-Sonics company, before the stench gets worse.

Go to Storm games - Seattle is known for truly having the best fans in the league. Plenty of standing fans cheering.

This really pisses me off. Fans of the other team always seem exempt from any of these rules while the homers bear the brunt of Safeco's overly family-friendly policies. Other fans always take over the stadium because of this, and it happens with just about any team that has enough of them living in Seattle. Apparently the organization's staff is okay with this, just as long as Queen Anne and Magnolia families can have a nice little evening at the ballgame.

Also, alcohol enforcement at Safeco is ridiculous. I was at one of the St. Louis games the other week with some friends after we decided to get some cheap centerfield seats. While seated with beers in hand, our IDs were checked multiple times by different staff members and a friend who doesn't drink had his motherfucking Pepsi smell-checked TWICE. Whoever's making these calls at the organizational level should be run the fuck out of town by an angry promotional-giveaway-bat-wielding crowd.

Thanks for reminding me why I go to Sounders games.

What a lame town.

Bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, we're down by 1 with a runner on second. Most of the crowd is up cheering their brains out except this one 60+ year old jackass who hadn't cracked a smile all game and kept tapping the shoulder of the people in front of him to get them to sit down. My guess is he won the tickets, because no one who paid for a seat would be that big a douche.

What is this baseball you speak of?

@6

I've never been to a Sounders game where everyone wasn't standing throuout play (even when it's bad). Where the heck were you sitting?

We must develop a mass spectator sport even slower than baseball, so this unseemly temptation to stand and cheer will be avoided.

Affirming most of the comments here, Mariners management and their ridiculous rules regarding conduct are stifling true baseball expression in this town. I have witnessed waaay too many fans tossed out of games for very minor, or no infractions. I saw some fans, in the front row 3rd base side, take a foul ball in their beers, and were laughing and yelling at the other team about it, all in good fun, they were thrown out. Its retarded. A good portion of the origins of this game, are rooted in the New York metropolitan area, with its concordant fan base, who have no problem expressing themselves vocally; this is a tradition that mostly refrains from abusive language, but does reward a good heckle. Its all part of the game. I just keep thinking that if the Yankee management tried to put some of these rules on their fans, they'd have a fuckin' riot on their hands.

I used to love going to see the Mariners, at Safeco, win or lose, but now I am just tired of it. Tired of the loud obnoxious commercials playing out on the Jumbotron in between innings, tired of the canned exhortations to "get loud!" Tired of these ridiculous and shortsighted conduct rules. And yes, tired of the losing.

@19, as a related bit of anecdotal "evidence", I've been going to baseball games anywhere from 2-20 times a season since moving to Seattle in 1991, and I've yet to see anyone removed from Safeco or the Kingdome for any reason, ever.*

* With the possible exception of the fans who rushed the Kingdome field at the end of that Angels/Ms sudden death playoff game at the end of the 95 season, that started tearing up the turf. Those guys were probably removed or even arrested.