Long long ago, in a far away galaxy called the 80's, the song Louie Louie (as performed by a band with Northwest roots called The Kingmen) nearly became the official song of Washington State. 

When they performed live in 1990 during the 7th inning stretch atop the Mariner's dugout on a fateful June afternoon with Randy Johnson on the mound the song was forever bonded to the Mariner's franchise after the Big Unit recorded the first no-hitter in Mariner's history.

The song has become a staple of Mariner's tradition. It's a song fathers danced to as kids in the Kingdome only to grow up and dance with their own children at T-Mobile Park. It's part of the unique character of this franchise and outdates Boston's playing of "Sweet Caroline".

Perhaps to get the best idea of how one of a kind this tradition is it's best to get the perspective from somebody on the outside looking in. In the words of u/Spock_Jenkins on Reddit :

I have what’s maybe a more unique perspective. I moved from Seattle to Phoenix where I’ve attended a good amount of Diamondback games. What still surprises me about the Diamondbacks is that there is a shocking lack of culture surrounding the team, and they’ve won a World Series! They have no tradition, no ceremony, no quirks, nothing unique about them. You visit the wildly outdated stadium, pay $23 for some food, the ushers make sure none of the kids have any fun, you watch the dbacks lose, and you go home. They make little to no effort to incorporate anything unique to Arizona in the experience, and the fans don’t seem to care much at all. Hell I payed $35 to get into the last Wild Card game they made it to.

I know Seattle is a much older team, but most of the traditions we enjoy are at most 25 years old or started with Safeco. The music that kicks off a broadcast, hydroplanes, “Fire” when the M’s win, the Mariner Moose guy, the M’s Hall of Fame, the Ichiroll, Rainier tall boys, it all comes together to create a team and fan culture that is among the best and most rewarding in all of baseball. There is a very small amount of fandoms that can be as bad as we have been for 20+ years and then turn it all back on with the flip of a switch. No one is coming to a diamondbacks game dressed up as the ‘01 team, I assure you. They don’t have cotton candy girls, journalists making heartfelt documentaries on the team, or former players wanting to join the coaching staff. Playing Louie Louie isn’t just about enjoying music at the end of the stretch, it’s a tradition that has already spanned multiple generations and let’s you know when you hear it that there’s only one place in the world that you could possibly be. And for many people (including myself), that’s the only place in the world that you want to be.

TL;DR We are so lucky as Mariners fans, and I think we should preserve as much of the culture and tradition as possible, and that includes Louie Louie.

In a perfect world, we'd love to see this petition reach 47,943 signatures - enough autographs from fans to fill the ballpark. We will be making arrangements to present this petition to Kevin Martinez, the head of Mariners’ marketing to show we appreciate this unique late game ritual and that we don't want to see it disappear.

The only way to make that happen is with your support. Please take the time to sign and please share it on social media, especially with friends you've danced alongside with at the ballpark.