Fans of the Seattle Thunderbirds got a chance to celebrate the team’s sensational season on the plaza of the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent.
Mayor Dana Ralph joined the celebration June 6 and proclaimed June 6, 2023 as Let’s Go Birds Day which led to chants from the crowd of “Let’s go Birds!”
Ralph even wore a T-Birds champions shirt later in the evening at the Kent City Council meeting.
Red Alert, the Seattle Kraken marching band, performed at the event.
Seattle lost 5-0 to the Quebec Remparts in the Canadian Hockey League’s (CHL) Memorial Cup championship game June 4 in Kamloops, British Columbia.
Prior to the loss, however, the T-Birds set a franchise record with 54 wins in the regular season. They won the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and captured the WHL title. They had never played for the Memorial Cup title in two previous trips. The Memorial Cup determines the top team among the 60 CHL clubs.
Seattle forward Jared Davidson told the fans how much their support meant to him during his junior hockey career in Kent.
“Everyone here is the best fans in the league,” Davidson said. “I’ve seen it for five years now. It’s been a pretty special place to play and it has a special place in my heart.”
Davidson told the fans he had one request as he then led them in chants of “Portland sucks! Portland sucks!”
That chant is a tradition at the ShoWare Center during the T-Birds’ introduction music as well as each time the team scores. Fans change which team sucks based on the opponent, but it all began with chants against the Portland Winterhawks, the primary rival of the T-Birds.
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A fan’s shirt displays the names of the Seattle Thunderbirds. COURTESY PHOTO, Brian Liesse, Seattle Thunderbirds
Dylan Guenther, left, and Lucas Ciona sign autographs. COURTESY PHOTO, Brian Liesse, Seattle Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds show their pride during a June 6 celebration at the ShoWare Center plaza. COURTESY PHOTO, Brian Liesse, Seattle Thunderbirds
Red Alert, the Seattle Kraken marching band, performs for the crowd at the Seattle Thunderbirds celebration of winning the Western Hockey League title and playing in the Memorial Cup. COURTESY PHOTO, Brian Liesse, Seattle Thunderbirds
The 2022-2023 Seattle Thunderbirds Western Hockey League champions. COURTESY PHOTO, Brian Liesse, Seattle Thunderbirds
