A couple years ago, Brandon Roy bid adieu to the UW after four stellar seasons and entered the NBA. Since then, Roy has won Rookie of the Year and played in two all-star games.

A couple weeks ago, kryptonite finally defeated high-flying Superman. A guy barely taller than yours truly dethroned 6’ 11” Dwight Howard. Nate Robinson is the champion of the NBA slam-dunk competition.

A little while ago, Ken Griffey Jr. put Seattle Mariner fans through a rollercoaster ride of anguish and excitement, before returning to the city that he had enraptured for years.

And in the next couple years, Tony Wroten will cause recruiting chaos — schools across the nation will be yearning for his attendance.

I, along with other Seattle sports fans, have anguished in the sorry excuse the city has produced for professional sports. But lately, my pride for the city has grown.

As I watched the all-star game, watching B-Roy spin around the best the East could offer and finish with as much enthusiasm as anyone, I smiled inside and thought, “That guy went to my school.”

As I watched Nate Robinson dunk over Dwight Howard and conclude his performance with a “damn-I’m-filthy” jig, I chuckled to myself and thought, “He’s from Seattle.”

As I watched ESPN and saw the following Facebook status update frenzy of, “GRIFFEY’S A MARINER!” I had hope for the Mariners once more.

As I watched Wroten slam home an alley-oop and the testosterone surrounding me exploded off the stands, I knew Seattle would always have a place in the sports world.

Seattle sports are not exactly in the most ideal situation. We currently don’t have a NBA team, our football teams, the Seahawks and Huskies alike, have seen better days, and the Mariners have fallen from the greatness they were nearly a decade ago. But Roy, Robinson, Griffey, and Wroten represent Seattle, and represent the Emerald City better than most athletes could.

Griffey may not be the Tony Wroten the Mariners need (young, unbridled, and talented; however, perhaps he’s more of a Barack Obama, bringing hope to a city in need of it. His arrival means that even if the Mariners have 100 losses this upcoming season, and even if Griffey himself plays terribly, people will still flock to Safeco Field to catch Jr. in action one more time.

Robinson and Roy do not play for a Seattle NBA team, but Seattle-ites will always be able to identify with them. Their families live here; their childhoods are based here. No matter where the two UW alumni end up, their hometown will always be Seattle.

Tony Wroten has already become a household name in Seattle, even at fifteen. He’s in the newspaper regularly, people search for him on YouTube — Wroten is on his way to celebrity status.

Tony Wroten represents the future of Seattle sports. He will most likely get a full ride to a Division I school after graduation, and after college, the sky’s the limit for Wroten. He probably won’t be playing in Seattle after then, but people will always know that Tony Wroten attended Garfield High School in Seattle.

Lately Seattle sports fans have been subjected to ridicule and shame as the losses have piled up and the respect for our teams has dwindled. But Seattleites may just need to look a bit farther for the success the 206 has spurned. Perhaps at the dunk contest, or at the all-star game, or in the headlines, or in its very own high schools, Seattle can be proud of its standing in the sports world.

Seattle sports fans may have to look to individual players rather than teams, and overlook the losses piling up throughout the season, but those facts are simply blemishes on a reputation that one should really be proud of. Seattle has, and will continue to have, admirable representation in the sports world.