As the Seattle Seahawks try to repeat as Super Bowl champions, they come prepared with one of the most dynamic weapons in the NFL. No, it's not their confident and dominant defense. It's not their young star quarterback Russell Wilson. It's not their popular head coach Pete Carroll.
It's the fans in their stadium. All 67,000 of them.
Here are some incredible facts about Seattle's CenturyLink Field faithful, also referred to as The 12th Man.
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They Can Get Louder Than A Jet Plane
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The 12th Man's collective roar reached a staggering 137.6 decibels (a Guinness World Record) during a December 2013 beatdown of the New Orleans Saints. That's just a handful of decibels away from eardrum rupture territory.
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They're A False-Start Producing Machine
Otto Greule Jr via Getty Images
Since 2005, CenturyLink Field has been the site for 130 opponent false starts, the most of any venue in the NFL.
Mike Holmgren Once Even Gave Them The Game Ball
Otto Greule Jr via Getty Images
The then-Seahawks coach symbolically presented the 12th Man with the game ball following a 34-31 overtime win over the New York Giants in November 2005. Holmgren credited the crowd noise as the cause of the Giants' 11 false starts and three missed field goals.
The Seahawks Retired The Number 12 In 1984 In Honor Of Their Fans
AP
The franchise was just 8 years old at the time when No. 12 was retired in honor of the Seahawks fans. They wouldn't go on to retire an actual player's number until 1992 (Steve Largent).
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A 12th Man Flag Adorned The Space Needle
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A quartet of former Seahawks players -- Dave Wyman, Craig Terrill, Alex Bannister and Joe Tafoya -- raised the flag to the Needle's roof during the team's 2014 Super Bowl run.
They Have Their Own Jerseys
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Not only does the 12th Man have its own Seattle Seahawks jersey available at the NFL pro shop, but it's also among the 10 highest-selling uniforms in the league.
They Can Count The President As One Of Their Own
ASSOCIATED PRESS
When the Seahawks visited the White House following their Super Bowl victory, they bucked a longstanding tradition. Instead of presenting the president with a customized jersey, they elected to offer him the 12th Man's signature flag instead.
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They Don't Let A Trivial Detail Like Copyright Stop Them
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Turns out, the Texas A&M Aggies have also been calling their cheering section the 12th Man for decades, and the university went so far as to copyright the distinction in 1990. The Seahawks reached an out-of-court agreement with the Aggies in 2006, allowing them to continue with their own use of the name in exchange for $100,000 upfront and a $5,000 annual licensing fee thereafter, per Forbes.com
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