"Who are you? The Mariner Moose? No. You're a Yankees fan. God, I can't think of a worse insult to put on you, Matt. Let's just leave it at that."

The Mariners' management thinks Yankees fans suck, but they sure did motivate the M's in the House That Ruth Built last weekend. As Matt Villano wrote in an athletic fit of prediction last week ["M's Fans Still Suck," May 2]: "If I were a betting man, I'd bet on the M's-when they play in front of the sad-sack fans here at Safeco, the boys are 8-7; on the road, when they don't expect anyone to take their side, they've yet to lose." The M's domination on the road would seem to bolster his argument, and, of course, Villano's got more to say.

Meanwhile, Villano's recent articles have got the Weekly inundated with more mail than ANYONE here can EVER remember getting-more than WTO, more than the Palestinian conflict, more than the 100 Favorite Restaurants special in which we said that Ristorante Machiavelli is closed on Monday when really it's only closed on Sunday.

Here's a sample of what you people are saying.

Eds.

YUCK THE FANKEES

Mariner management are Seattle's new "thought police." Under the bogus claim that the word "suck" is a "dirty, dirty word," they asked Mariner fans to remove their shirts under threat of eviction ["M's Fans Still Suck," May 2]. But is the word "suck" in and of itself so dirty, or is it the thought behind the word that is so offensive? Methinks they are enforcing the latter. I wonder if Mariner brass would allow a "Yuck the Fankees" shirt? There is only one way to find out, and when the dreaded Yankees return this summer, I will be wearing mine . . . as I sit chained to my seat . . . lest the Mariner gestapo try and evict me for not thinking clean enough for them.

It's bad enough that I bought that stadium for the Mariners; to hell if they're going to tell me what I can think about the Yankees in my facility.

Ben Schroeter
Seattle

YUP, WE SUCK

Today, I read your essay ["Operation True Fanatic," April 25], and as an ex-New Yorker, born and raised in Queens, I cheer for you and your astute observations of Seattleites at Mariners games. I've lived out here for 21 years and could write a treatise on wussy Seattleites.

I'm still a Yankees fan when the Mariners and Yankees oppose; though I'm always torn right up to the last minute, then I root for the Yankees. I adore the Mariners. I wear my Yankees jacket, T-shirt, and cap around town. The only comment I've ever received was: "You're awfully brave," a most apathetic response. Perhaps you missed the overwhelming quiet around town when the Yankees and the Mets played the World Series. It was as though baseball didn't exist.

Today a friend from N.Y. mentioned that Seattleites take umbrage at every damn thing and take it personally. Getting in a face out here just isn't done. We must be nice. As I said, I could write a treatise. I shall not. I've said enough, for now.

The Yanks are coming! The Yanks are coming! Their fans are coming, too. Be loud. Be raucous. Create a scene. Yell your lungs out.

I'm counting on you, Matt.

Susan Ashton
Kirkland

MINI MOOSE SUCKS

I agree with Matt Villano: M's fans suck. I don't agree with his reason: that M's fans are asleep. (Villano, you should know trying to repeat an experience like the Bronx Zoo in Seattle or anywhere is impossible. Only in Yankee Stadium can you watch one team single-handedly destroy the game of baseball. Thanks for the upcoming strike, Yanks.) Actually, I think M's fans cheer a lot. I just don't think they know what they're cheering about.

Fans cheer if a Mariner grounds out but runs really fast down the first baseline. They cheer if an M's pitcher gets yanked after giving up a three-run homer, because he was "trying." But, more than anything, they cheer for the hydro race, the hat trick, and that stupid tug-of-war between the Mariner Moose and Mini Moose.

I'm glad to say there's an excuse. The M's haven't been winning for long. So now that Safeco is suddenly the hot place to be, there are tons of people coming to baseball games for the first time. I'm optimistic that a few years down the road, Safeco will still be packed with cheering fans. I just hope by then the fans know know why they're cheering.

Joe Gerlitz
via e-mail

NO MATT, YOU SUCK

So, Matt Villano is a displaced Yankees fan who wants to goad M's fans into being just like Yankees fans? Well, Matt, in the words of David Johansen in the movie Scrooged, "GO BACK TO JERSEY, YOU MORON!"

Your dreams of turning the Safe into Yankee Stadium West are doomed. What is it about Seattle that attracts people who want to turn it into the cesspools they've just fled from? Watching the M's at Safeco is fun and exciting, and from my perspective in Section 331, the fans respond generously to the natural drama of the game. We moan when bad plays happen and we cheer when we do well. If that's not enough for you, then I think YOU need to think about why you're there.