Seattle Seahawks And The All-Important Twelfth Man
If there is one thing you can count on in the NFL, it is that tradition will always play a major role in the League's life. From timeless traditions like tailgating and the Thanksgiving Day Classic to the act of naming everything in sight - the Ice Bowl or the Steel Curtain, for example - fans appreciate the way that football has a language that is all its own. The Seattle Seahawks have contributed to the colorful nature of NFL tradition with a unique tradition of their own - if tradition can describe anything done by a team with only 34 years of play under its belt. That tradition involves the importance of the team's 12th Man.
The meaning of the term
The expression "12th Man" has a meaning that every diehard football fan readily understands, but which may seem somewhat vague to the uninitiated. In football, each team is allowed only eleven players on the field at any one time - regardless of whether they are playing offense or defense. The 12th Man is, therefore, a reference to the energy provided by the fans of the team who are in the stadium watching the game. Although the term "12th Man" is recognized as belonging to the Texas A&M Aggies college football program, the Seahawks have an agreement that allows them to use the term to describe their own fans as well.
How it all began
To truly understand the 12th Man, you have to go all the way back into the history of the game - and the Aggies' Dixie Classic matchup in 1922 against a superior Centre College team. The Aggies were doing their best to contain their foes - and were on their way to winning the game - but experienced so many injuries playing the first half of football that it looked as though their reserves would be depleted before game's end. The team's coach didn't want to forfeit for lack of players, and so turned to a spectator who had been a member of the squad during the regular seasons: E. King Gill. The young man suited up in a uniform and stood diligently on the sidelines for the remainder of the game, ready to go in if his Aggies needed his services. As it turns out, the Aggies came very close to sending him onto the field. At the end of the contest, there were only twelve healthy Aggies remaining: the eleven players on the field, and E. King Gill on the sideline. He was, indeed, the original 12th Man.
Seahawks fans
Few would argue with the idea that Seattle's fans can produce some noise in their stadium. So raucous is the crowd that the team retired #12 back in 1984 in recognition of those fans' support. Since that time, the Seahawks raise a flag with that number on it to start each home game, and sells number twelve jerseys to their supporters. It has even gone so far that the team's fans have been presented with a game ball after a 2005 win against the New York Giants. The fans' screaming on that day spurred the Giants to an incredible eleven penalties for false starts.
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