12s

Lore & Background

The Seahawks retired jersey number 12 in 1984, designating the fans as the 12th Man. In 1990, Texas A&M, which originated the 12th Man in 1922, granted a limited license for the Seahawks to use the term. The franchise did not renew the license in 2016, and the fans became known simply as the 12s. Fan devotion grew in the early 2000s under new owner Paul Allen, who purchased the team in 1997, and intensified during the 2010s with head coach Pete Carroll and the Legion of Boom defense, culminating in a Super Bowl XLVIII victory. In 2014, Boeing painted a 747 cargo plane in Seahawks livery with the number 12 on the tail, flying a route shaped like the number 12.

Reader's Guide

The 12s represent a unique phenomenon in professional sports, where a fan base is formally recognized as an integral part of the team. Their ability to generate extreme crowd noise—setting world records of 136.6 dB in 2013 and 137.6 dB later that same year—directly influenced stadium design, with Lumen Field engineered to funnel noise onto the field. The fanbase's significance extends beyond the stadium: a 12th Man flag was carried to the summit of Mount Everest in 2016, and the number 12 appears repeatedly in Seattle's Super Bowl 48 history. The transition from '12th Man' to '12s' resolved a trademark conflict with Texas A&M, but the core identity of the fans as a collective force remains. Their legacy includes both passionate support and controversies over perceived fair-weather fandom during the team's earlier attendance struggles.

Did You Know?

• The Seahawks retired jersey number 12 in 1984 to honor the fans as the 12th Man.
• Fan noise at a 2013 Monday Night Football game against the New Orleans Saints registered 137.6 dB, a world record.
• In 2016, mountaineer David Liaño González carried a 12th Man flag to the summit of Mount Everest.