TEENAGE GREATLAND, U.S.A. – In a city best known for coffee, culture, beautiful scenery and horizontal rain, Seattle sports fans can throw another label on the list: pre-twentysomething superstars.

That claim will be enhanced Thursday night, when the Seattle SuperSonics select either Greg Oden (19) or Kevin Durant (18) with the second pick in the NBA Draft. The debate that has raged since a series of four ping-pong balls in May established the Northwest as the epicenter of the annual draft will finally have its answer.

Oden or Durant?

The Portland Trail Blazers will make that decision, but this much is clear: the newest member of Seattle’s oldest professional sports franchise will enter an impressive legacy of teenage sports stars.

Junior. Kemp. A-Rod. Rashard. Felix. One name is enough to immediately trigger a memory bank of great plays and age-defying performances.

Who can forget the Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr. hitting a home run on the first pitch thrown to him at the Kingdome? Or Sonics wunderkind Shawn Kemp thundering past Kenny Walker with a double-clutch reverse dunk in New York?

Alex Rodriguez made his major league debut at shortstop for the Mariners at age 18; Rashard Lewis started seven games as a 19-year-old rookie with the Sonics; and Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez overpowered hitters with his fastball and made them look silly chasing his curve at age 19.

Both Oden and Durant are expected by fans, media and national marketing executives to continue that tradition. But are expectations too high too soon? Can a teenager be the driving force for a proud franchise fighting for relevancy in its own market?

In Seattle, history says “yes.”

Instant Impact

Twenty years ago this month, the Mariners made Ken Griffey Jr. the first overall pick in the 1987 Major League Baseball Amateur draft. Twenty months later, he was in Peoria, Ariz., for spring training, considered a longshot at age 19 to the make the big league club.

Yet his talent sped up the Mariners’ timeframe. He hit .359 in spring training and drove in 21 runs in 26 games. He was in centerfield on Opening Day and, despite being the youngest player in the major leagues, made the spectacular look routine, both in the field and at the plate.

“Him making the team was a big deal,” said Randy Adamack, Vice President of Communications for the Mariners. “He brought a spotlight to the team and to the franchise that we hadn’t had before.”

Griffey gave Seattle baseball fans more than hope; he gave them a reason to come to the ballpark. Attendance jumped nearly 300,000 from the previous season, a figure Adamack attributes directly to Griffey. Two seasons later, the Mariners topped the two million figure for the first time in franchise history.

“There was always a reason to come to the ballpark, win or lose, because of what he might do,” Adamack said.

It did not take long for the national spotlight to find Seattle and Griffey. He was on the cover of Baseball America by the second month of his rookie season. Sports Illlustrated covers would follow as well as national ad campaigns by Nike and trading card companies. He even had his own candy bar – the Ken Griffey Jr. Bar.

“He’s a 19-year-old who can do it all,” wrote Baseball America.

In his first 10 seasons, Griffey played in 10 All-Star Games and was awarded 10 Gold Gloves and one MVP.

Oh, and this little fact: He kept baseball in Seattle.

The Sonics Turn?

Anybody familiar with the Griffey story can’t help but notice a similar story line currently playing out with the Sonics, Seattle’s first professional sports franchise.

Despite the arena issue, despite the possibility of relocation, despite a fan-base reluctant to invest both emotionally and financially, the Sonics have market buzz. The talk on the radio and in the market isn’t about the above issues, it’s about the debate: Oden or Durant?

It started with the lottery on May 22 and has been stoked daily by events and developments. The team’s draft party sold out before invitations could go out to the general public. Season ticket sales and ticket packages are far ahead of the pace of last season. Media attention is soaring, as is national interest in the team’s Las Vegas Summer League plans.

The national spotlight on the franchise will continue to find Seattle and the Sonics, regardless of whether the draft pick is Oden or Durant. The renewed Interstate-5 Rivlary will only heighten awareness for the next decade and beyond.

Meanwhile, the marketing wheels are churning. Oden has signed lucrative endorsement deals with Nike and Topps trading cards; Durant has yet to decide on his shoe deal, but his deal with Upper Deck Co. puts him in the company of LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods. Durant already is featured with NBA star Gilbert Arenas for EA Sports’ NBA Live ’08 video game. Surely more deals will follow for both Oden and Durant.

But what does it mean for the Sonics and for Seattle? Time will tell.

But 20 years ago, the arrival of a celebrated teenager with an engaging smile and can’t-miss talent helped create the foundation that kept major league baseball in Seattle.