Every city has its sports heroes, and some have more than others. The city I grew up in, Seattle, has very few. I've written before about Dennis Johnson and the '78-79 World Champion Sonics, and in many ways that team symbolizes Seattle sports. It was a collection of good, very good, and in some cases great players, but without a legendary mega-superstar along the lines of a Bird, Magic, Jordan, or Shaq.

In general, Seattle teams have had any number of great athletes over the years, but efforts to bring in the sort of mega-superstar, franchise-changing players have resulted in moderate disappointment (think Shawn Kemp) to abysmal failure (think Brian Bosworth and Rick Mirer).

There is one exception, however, and that's Ken Griffey, Jr.

Drafted out of high-school at the age of 18, Griffey spent two years in the minors before putting on a Mariners uniform on opening day, 1989. He arrived with the unimaginable burden of expectation placed on him by being a first round draft pick with a legendary father, and after beginning the season with a 2 for 19 start on the road, Griffey returned to Seattle and promptly hit his first pitch before a home crowd out of the park.

Over the next 10 years Griffey went on to be one of the best players in the league, racking up all kinds of numbers and leading the club to two post-season appearances, including the ALCS in 1995. Trust me, as someone who lived through the (very) lean years of the early eighties, the idea of the Mariners ever getting within spitting distance of the World Series was unthinkable.

I do not want to undersell the contributions of his teammates: the Mariners built an unbelievably strong supporting cast, with Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez and a young A-Rod joining Griffey in what was one of the most feared and potent line ups in baseball at the time. And, of course, we also had some pretty good pitching back then, too.

But Griffey was the star, and though he didn't manage to bring home a World Series, his presence did more to change the Mariners franchise and excite the city about his team than any Seattle athlete has ever done before - or since.

The reason I mention all this is because Griffey is returning to play in Seattle tonight for the first time since he left after the 1999 season. The Kid is finally coming home.