We were due. We’ve watched as cities both bigger and smaller celebrated championship after championship. We’ve told ourselves, “there’s always next year,” even when that’s been more of a threat than a reason for optimism.
But what we’ve seen in Seattle lately has been different. We’ve been living that promised “next year.” In fact, you could easily argue that this has been the best sports year our city has ever had. And it has a chance to be even better if the Seahawks are able to defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX come Sunday.
Obviously, the Seahawks are the biggest story; the headliner of the Seattle sports scene, as they have been for the past two decades. It starts with 14 regular season wins, numerous players being named to the All-Pro team, including the betting favorite for Offensive Player of the Year in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and a division title that was clinched with impressive wins over the hated Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers.
But as great as the regular season was, this postseason—even being only two games long thus far—has reached a different level. Not only did the Seahawks steamroll the 49ers 41–6 in a game that somehow didn’t feel even that close. Not only did they defeat the Rams 31–27 to clinch a trip to their fourth ever Super Bowl. But now, now they get a chance to help avenge one of the darkest losses in Seattle sports history: the New England Patriots. The team that has caused all of us to recoil at the words “Malcolm Butler.” My gosh, Marshawn Lynch was standing right there! If the Seahawks can beat the Pats—and the oddsmakers think they should—this will be the most special championship in this city’s (relatively short, but not that short) sports history.
Yes, the biggest sporting event across the world is going to be played across the street from the Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar.
But we’re not just here to talk about the Seahawks. The Seattle Mariners did something they haven’t done since well before this magazine even existed; they won the American League West. And like the Seahawks, that win came over an absolutely despised rival in the Houston Astros.
The Mariners did it in large—pun somewhat intended—part due to an otherworldly effort from Cal Raleigh, a.k.a. Big Dumper. Not only did he break the Seattle Mariners’ record for homers in a season, he shattered the switch-hitting record of a little-known baseball player named Mickey Mantle. Hopefully I’m spelling that right. Sixty homers. Five more in the postseason, including the one that tied Game 6 in the eighth inning. Sure, the Mariners also got amazing seasons out of Julio Rodríguez, Jorge Polanco, Bryan Woo, and a host of others, but Raleigh carried Seattle closer to the promised land than ever before. Yes, the fact that he didn’t get an MVP trophy out of it is a little heartbreaking. But having a historic superstar performance from a player like that on top of the team’s success? Tough to beat.
There was a lot more to celebrate in 2025–26. The Seattle Kraken have the consistency of a microwaved Hot Pocket with multiple long winning and losing streaks, but when they’re at their best, they look like a legitimate contender while remaining in prime position to return to the postseason for the second time in their history. Matty Beniers has taken a massive step forward after two mediocre seasons following his Rookie of the Year campaign. The Kraken still have one of the youngest rosters in hockey, so while a trip to the Stanley Cup seems far-fetched, it’s easy to view 2025–26 as the year that got the party started.
Washington’s college football team was able to win nine games in their second year in the vaunted Big Ten. The season was an improvement, and one the Huskies should be able to build on. The UW men’s soccer team also won a national title, if you’re more into the other kind of football.
The Storm returned to the playoffs, and Dominique Malonga looks like the (literal) next big thing in the WNBA. Meanwhile, the popularity of the league is soaring.
The Sounders got to play in the FIFA Club World Cup and didn’t get embarrassed while making their usual trip to the postseason in the MLS.
The Reign bounced back from their disastrous 2024 campaign to make the quarterfinals and look set to be a major contender for the foreseeable future.
Tyran Stokes, arguably the best high school basketball player in the country, transferred to Rainier Beach and has electrified crowds with his play.
The Seattle Torrent debuted in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. They drew more than 16,000 fans for their debut game, making it the most highly attended women’s hockey game in US history.
And if we want to push the calendar year, we can also note that the World Cup is coming to Seattle, and that the United States will host the Socceroos of Australia come June. Yes, the biggest sporting event across the world is going to be played across the street from the Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar. If you would have asked 12-year-old Chris Crawford if that was possible, he would have laughed in your face. But it’s happening.
Yes, it’s very likely that only one major pro team will come home with a championship in 2026 (counting on you, Seahawks). But when you consider how much success the teams and individuals of Seattle have had over the past 15 months—and let’s be honest, when you consider the lack of success that the majority of these teams/players have had in their past—it’s pretty easy to argue that we’re living in a golden age for Seattle sports. It’s about time.