— by Lin McNulty —
It’s proudly displayed in lights at Dr. Bailey’s office on Mount Baker Road. It’s splayed across the front windows of Island Market, and covers the windows at The Lower Tavern: 12!
Orcas fans are planning menus, getting their game faces on, and making arrangements on where to watch the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game on Sunday against a team from California (they are called the 49ers, or something like that). Orcas Island Elementary’s Spirit Day even turned into Seahawks Day as young fans gathered in the bleachers for a group photo.
The 12th MAN (women included) is the term adopted by the Seahawks in support of their loyal legion of fans. The Seahawks website tells the story. “The Seattle fans had such an impact on the success of the team in the 1980s that Seahawks President Mike McCormack retired the number 12 jersey on December 15, 1984—forever.
“Seattle’s fans are known as the loudest in the NFL, so much so that the league instituted a noise rule in 1985. Despite the rule, the 12th MAN continued the tradition, giving the Seahawks a home field advantage to this day.
“In 2003, the 12th MAN was honored once again, this time with a flag. The tradition of the 12th MAN Flag began October 12, 2003, when 12 original season ticket holders hoisted the flag prior to kickoff.”
The Seahawks average 2.36 false starts a game when playing in CenturyLink Field, due, no doubt, to fan noise disrupting the visiting team’s on-field communications.
On December 2, 2013, at CenturyLink Field, against the New Orleans Saints, Seahawks fans registered a decibel reading of 137.6, a Guinness Book World Record.
On January 11 of this year, an unscientific decibel reading of 115.6 was registered at The Lower Tavern. There is not much doubt that noise traveled down-sound to CenturyLink field and contributed to the win.
Pick your spot, don your jersey, and scream until it hurts. The winner of this game will play in the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 2.
And we did it today!
On to Super Bowl!