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Seahawks fans attending a preseason game against the Chicago Bears on August 22, 2014
The number 12 has long been affiliated with Seahawks fans

The 12s (or formerly the 12th man) refers to fans of the Seattle Seahawks. Across the city of Seattle, fans often display a 12 flag in support of the team whenever the Seahawks make a postseason appearance or prior to the season opener.[1][2][3][4][5] Fan devotion grew immensely during the early years of the millennium, resulting in engineers designing Lumen Field to funnel crowd noise onto the field to intimidate opposing teams.[6][7] Fan interest peaked again during the 2010s following the hiring of head coach Pete Carroll, in addition to the famous Legion of Boom defense propelling the franchise to win Super Bowl XLVIII.[8][9] In 2014, local sponsor Boeing even painted a 747 Cargo plane in a Seahawks' themed livery, with the number 12 on the tail, making its flight path into the shape of the number 12.[10][11]

Fan Support

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Rapper Macklemore representing the Seahawks before their appearance at Super Bowl XLVIII

Throughout much of the franchise's early history in Seattle, the team suffered from poor attendance; culminating in former owner Ken Behring attempting to relocate the franchise to Los Angeles in 1996.[12] Despite this; fan interest grew rapidly in the early 2000s under new owner Paul Allen who had purchased the team from Behring in 1997.[13][14] Things further improved for the franchise with the hiring of coach Mike Holmgren in 1999. Under Holmgren, the Seahawks managed four consecutive division titles and appeared in Super Bowl XL in 2006. The team's fans have known to be immensely devoted to their team since Holmgren's tenure, with the organization placing a large flag in the endzone with the number 12 in 2003.[15] The fanbase grew exponentially during the 2010s with the hiring of Pete Carroll as their head coach during the 2009 offseason. The Seahawks narrowly beat out the division rival St. Louis Rams for the division title as both finished with a 7-9 record, but the Seahawks managed a famous upset victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. During the fourth quarter, the Seahawks led by four points prior to snapping the ball in Marshawn Lynch's famous Beast Quake run that returned the ball 67 yards while breaking 9 tackles to secure the victory. Fan reaction was so loud that seismologists reported that the crowd had created an artificial earthquake in the process.[16] The Seahawks' fans have set the Guinness World Record loudest crowd noise at a sporting event on two occasions. First which being on September 15, 2013, registering 136.6 dB during a game against the San Francisco 49ers[17][18] and again on December 2, 2013, during a Monday Night Football game against the New Orleans Saints, with a roar of 137.6 dB.[19][20] In May 2016, mountaineer David Liaño González carried a 12th Man flag to the summit of Mount Everest.[21]

Controversy

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The Seahawks fanbase grew notorious through the latter half of the 2010s for being obnoxious and superficial in addition to their rise in strength, with many highlighting the team's prior attendance woes of the 1990s as proof of them supporting the team once they found success during the 2000s.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28] In addition to their own growth in playoff success, their fellow rivals such as the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers had also made prominent returns to playoff success during the decade, leading to frequent clashes with rival Rams, or 49ers fans often escalating into violent confrontations.

Conflict with Texas A&M

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For numerous years into the 2010s, the Seahawks marketed The 12th Man name heavily, though its origins began through Texas A&M dating back to 1921, later being trademarked in 1996.[29] A legal agreement was reached in 2016 between the Seahawks organization and Texas A&M to cease use of the name in their marketing.[30] Today, much of the Seahawks fans are simply referred to as The 12s.[31][32]

References

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  1. ^ "The 12s". Seahawks.com. Seattle Seahawks. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  2. ^ Ballard, Chris (November 6, 2013). "Into the belly of beast mode with Seattle's 12th Man". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on February 14, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014 – via sportsillustrated.cnn.com.
  3. ^ Roberts, Chris (February 4, 2014). "Seattle Seahawks 12th Man Flag to Torment 49ers Fans". NBC Bay Area. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  4. ^ "World's largest 12th Man flag unfurled". KIRO TV. January 30, 2014. Archived from the original on February 14, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  5. ^ Stead, Jordan; Trujillo, Joshua (January 31, 2014). "12th Man flag unfolds under Lady Liberty". SeattlePI.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  6. ^ Bruscas, Anfelo (July 7, 2002). "Seahawks owner believes stadium will help drive team to higher level". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  7. ^ Robin, Acton (January 29, 2006). "Profile of Allen, Seahawks owner". Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on October 22, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
  8. ^ "Guest:Are Bandwagon Seahawks fans For Real?".
  9. ^ "There's Always Room on the Bandwagon".
  10. ^ Mutzabaugh, Ben (30 January 2014). "Boeing rolls out a mean-looking Seahawks 747 jumbo jet". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  11. ^ "Boeing unveils Seattle Seahawks 747 plane". Fox News. Fox News. January 31, 2014. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  12. ^ Simers, TJ (February 2, 1996). "NFL's Seahawks moving to LA? Or are they bluffing?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  13. ^ Denlinger, Ken (February 3, 1996). "Court Blocks Seahawks' move". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  14. ^ "Nearly 10 Years ago the Seahawks nearly left for Southern California".
  15. ^ "History of the 12th Man". Seahawks.com. Seattle Seahawks. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
  16. ^ "One year ago, Seattle Seahawks 12th Man Earthquake". PNSN. Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  17. ^ Wilson, Ryan (September 16, 2013). "Seahawks fans set Guinness World Record for loudest stadium". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  18. ^ "12th Man lifts CenturyLink Field into Guinness World Record book for loudest stadium". Seahawks.com. Seattle Seahawks. September 15, 2013. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  19. ^ Florio, Mike (December 2, 2013). "12th Man sets new noise record". profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on October 4, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  20. ^ Quinton, Sean (December 2, 2013). "Seattle's 12th Man reclaims Guinness crowd noise record". SeattlePI.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  21. ^ "Top of the world! Fan takes love of Seahawks to summit of Mount Everest". Seattle Times. June 8, 2016. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021.
  22. ^ "Seahawks Fans Among The Whiniest Losers In The NFL".
  23. ^ "Seattle Seahawks fans ranked 2nd least loyal".
  24. ^ "10 Sports Teams Filled with Bandwagon Fans".
  25. ^ "Guest: Are bandwagon Seahawks fans for real?".
  26. ^ "Survey Supports Seahawks Fan Bandwagon Theory".
  27. ^ "Seahawks Bandwagon Fans Should Really Know These 19 Things".
  28. ^ "Think twice about jumping on the Seahawks bandwagon".
  29. ^ Unknown. "The Twelfth Man". The Battalion. Vol. 10, no. November 25, 1921. Students Association of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. p. 17. Archived from the original on 2013-01-31.
  30. ^ Rovell, Darren (August 11, 2016). "Seahawks reach 5-years licensing deal with Texas A&M". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on May 20, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  31. ^ "The 12s". Seahawks.com. Seattle Seahawks. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  32. ^ "Seahawks reach 5-year licensing deal with Texas A&M". ESPN.com. August 11, 2016. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016.
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