Seattle is growing pretty quickly, and with that so is its tourism industry. Coffee, an active volcano, Jeff Bezos, a big needle jutting into the skyline; these are the things I associated with Seattle’s tourism before my summer experience. After spending the last 8 weeks in the city, all I can think about is the color green.
Yes, I know “green” has also been commonly associated with Seattle for the longest time: its progressive environmental policies and advocacy, its northern woods surroundings, even its nickname as the Emerald City. However, my experience in Seattle was defined by the subtle hints of green I’d find day to day.
There’s a vast amount of parks in Seattle, some I’d been to multiple times and others not at all. Gas Works Park was one of my favorites. A couple times over the summer, Kelby and I would unlock our LimeBikes (named, of course, for their bright green color) and pedaled a couple miles to the waterfront park. Formerly the site of a gasification plant, Gas Works was turned into a hilly, grassy park great for picnics or watching fireworks on the 4th of July. It was the perfect place to find peace on the verdant knolls to watch the sunset with the crowds of both tourists and locals.
Another great thing Seattle offered to our team was its sports. While I didn’t get to see the Reign dominate in soccer, and I was about 2 months too early for the Seahawks and a decade too late to see the Sonics play in the NBA, I was lucky to make it to an event for every other professional sport in the city. DukeEngage sponsored our team to watch the Sounders crush the NYC FC, and the next day a few of us watched the Mariners outplay the Houston Astros at SafeCo. Before that, I had a chance to see the Storm win against the Dallas Wings in a close game.
The large following and intense spirit of each team was honestly impressive. Yet again, another commonality between each team was the colors; each current and past team alike has some variant of green incorporated into its official color scheme. Whether I was at a game or on the bus to work, I’d see hundreds of Seattleites repping their favorite sports team in their green apparel. The community of Seattle sports fans is inspiring; no matter who you support, those shades of green have the power to bring together fans from all around the city and nation.
And, while it may seem a little far fetched to symbolize an entire city only with a color, these little things I slowly uncovered during my DukeEngage experience are exactly why Seattle will always be green to me.