By Todd Fredrickson
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – One of the loudest cheers of the day Sunday went up during the second quarter while officials were stepping off a 10-yard holding penalty against the Seattle Seahawks offense.
The cause wasn’t the penalty. It was Mark McLemore’s run-scoring single in the top of the seventh inning of the Seattle Mariners’ baseball game in Cleveland.
A sizeable portion of those at Husky Stadium apparently had their eyes on the Seahawks’ 34-21 NFL victory over Denver and their ears on the radio broadcast of the Mariners’ 6-2 AL Division Series victory over Cleveland.
Although the baseball game wasn’t featured on the stadium’s video screen, the Seahawks’ crowd cut loose every time the Mariners did something good.
The sing-song chant of “Ed-gar, Ed-gar,” that is so familiar at Safeco Field rose up at Husky Stadium after the Mariners’ Edgar Martinez hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning. And the place went bananas when the Mariners’ final score was displayed on the big screen.
“I always bring (a radio), but I’m usually listening to the Seahawks,” said fan Dana Vana of Bellevue, who was tuned in to the M’s with earphones while watching the Seahawks from the south grandstand of Husky Stadium. “There were about six or seven other people right around here doing the same thing.”
Vana said he didn’t hesitate to jump and holler after McLemore’s single, even though the Seahawks were moving backward via the penalty while leading 17-7.
“We still had the lead, so things were going pretty good in both sports,” he said.
Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said he figured the Mariners must have been doing well with all the cheers going up out of sync with the football game.
“I thought, ‘Gee, are they on our side?’” he said of the celebration during the penalty. “And then I looked up and it was for the Mariners. But I congratulate the Mariners myself. I looked up there and I was as happy as everyone in the stands. We are all pulling for them.”
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