Off the cuff, I'd say this was Ichiro-related, given that it was Seattle.

(Damn, baseball was the theme this year? Now I'm really sorry I didn't get to go.)

Well spotted and THANK YOU! Ichiro was a HUGE deal in Seattle (to the point where I had to try the Ichi-roll sushi at the stadium) and it makes me happy to know that I got the details done well enough for someone else to make the connection.

I don't know what was up with the Mariners in the games that I got to see in person back then but in at least half of them they lost the game in the first inning and in one game it was glaringly obvious they had lost by allowed 9 runs to be scored. However Suzuki Ichiro was always worth watching and inevitably was the sole bright spot of the team's performance.

If you do make it to AC look me up!

For long-time baseball fans, Ichiro's stance and plate technique is as recognizable as, say, Stan Musial's was in an earlier generation. That, and the reference to Seattle, as I say, was the giveaway.

It's not easy to transliterate human elements to animal elements. Leonardo Batic did a fabulous job of it on a project he did for me some years ago, when he made a horse out of Tim Mara (the owner of the New York football Giants -- the story was set in the 1930s, and involved football). He managed to capture even the expression on the face, from the photo reference I gave him. So point to you for making it "obvious" that it was Ichiro.

No AC for me, alas, for various reasons. Nertz.

There needs to be more kangaroo baseball players!