12th Man

I don't watch a lot of sports these days. Growing up, I watched football with my dad on the weekends, but I much preferred the times I got to go to the ball park for a Twins game. I do like to go to a Mariners game at least once a year, but otherwise, my life is fairly sports free.

UW Tower Saluting the 12th Man

For weeks now, it has been hard to avoid sports as Seattle succumb to Super Bowl fever. In addition to the phrase 'Go Hawks!' making the rounds (this time without my friends' 'and take the Mariners with you' addition), the most prominent displays involved 12s showing up everywhere, including my office building. The 12s stand for the twelfth man, which is what the Seahawks have come to call their fans.

For those not acquainted with American Football, each side should have 11 players on the field at any time. In Seattle, our fans are so loud their presence is felt on the field, purportedly causing opposing teams problems when trying to execute their plays, and so becoming the 12th man on the field in every play. This takes every sports fan's idea that their support somehow helps their team win games a step further and, at least for those in the stadium, has more validity than most such claims.

Having been born on the 12th, it felt good to have all these 12s around town. I felt connected, albeit in a different way. I do have some street cred, though. Growing up, the Seahawks were actually one of my favorite teams, after the hometown Minnesota Vikings and along with the New Orleans Saints and the Denver Broncos (my younger self would have been much more torn about Sunday's Super Bowl than I was).

With all the 12s and hype swirling around, I started watching the game Sunday. I was home, which was probably good as I get way too involved in watching sports on television. 12 seconds in, the Broncos bobbled the ball and Seattle scored a safety. The play itself was odd but my team being up so early and easily in the game was even odder. Rooting for the Vikings, and even the Twins, was tough. Seattle has not had a major, city go crazy win since 1979, long before I moved here.I am used to my team often helping out in losing important games rather than showing their best stuff. And the only other time the Seahawks were in the Super Bowl, I felt the officials helped us lose, which is less embarrassing but still not a win.

Sunday's Super Bowl win came partly due to it really not being Denver's day. This time, they were the ones helping out with their loss. And "my" team, my team just had the best luck, as well as all the skill that had gotten them this far. Odd plays kept happening. We had another score 12 seconds into the second half. The 12th man was very present in the win.

In the end, Seattle won 43-8, with our defense scoring 8 points and special teams 6. Other than the lopsidedness, it was a great win. The city continued its Seahawks cheering, with more people showing up for today's parade in downtown Seattle than officially live in Seattle.I'm still not sure I'm comfortable with this winning status, but I am looking forward to giving it a whirl.