The Big Dumper, The Big AI, and The Big Reinvention

The excerpt captures Seattle's 2025 mood as one of "emotional whiplash," driven by two parallel events. The city's tech industry is experiencing a stressful "Great Reinvention" due to the rise of AI. This uncertainty is mirrored by the 2025 Seattle Mariners, who had a spectacular, record-breaking season—winning the AL West for the first time since 2001 and seeing Cal Raleigh break the franchise home run record—only to suffer a "jarring halt" by losing the ALCS in Game 7 to the Toronto Blue Jays. The article states this pattern of a "spectacular, record-breaking run followed by a sudden... halt" defines the city's collective feeling.