It’s not a bandwagon, it’s contagious.
We are four days away from the biggest game the Seattle Seahawks will play this season.
For the second time in franchise history, the Hawks won their conference, beating their division rival the San Francisco 49ers 23-17. It secured their place in the Super Bowl, where they will play the Denver Broncos.
On Sunday, more than 30,000 fans lined the streets cheering them on as they made their journey from Renton, the home of their training facility, to SeaTac where they boarded the plane to New Jersey.
The love for the Hawks is everywhere and has been for weeks now. You can see navy and neon green everywhere you look.
It is especially noticeable for me because I live in Renton, just three miles south of the Virginia Mason Athletic Center (VMAC), home of the Seattle Seahawks.
This is nothing new to me, throughout the entire season the Boeing hanger nearby dons a 12th Man flag on the side of the building and lining the street through The Landing are Seahawk themed flags with Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and a hawk on them. I have even seen former Seahawk John Moffitt shopping at Target and I have sat behind their newly drafted player Tharold Simon while watching a movie before the season started.
Many people criticize Seattle fans as being bandwagon fans and fair weathered but what’s to say that isn’t true for every other team and every other sport out there?
If you ask me, it is very easy to be a fair weathered fan – it is hard rooting for a team when they are not doing great. I even consider myself to be a fair weather fan at times, mostly when it comes to the Mariners. For as long as I can remember, I have always rooted for the Hawks and the Huskies – no matter what their record is – but I struggle rooting for the Mariners through tough times.
This season I wouldn’t say people have jumped on the bandwagon when it comes to cheering for the Hawks – the love and support for them is contagious. You can’t go anywhere without being reminded in one way or another about them and personally, I love it.
I love that something as simple as a professional football team can bring a whole city, a whole state together. There is no rivalry, we don’t have to choose between the Dawgs and the Cougs, we can all be in this together.
Our love for the Seahawks and their players gives us a connection to just about everyone else in the Pacific Northwest.
Of course there are those who have “hopped on board” this season but they have a good reason to – we have a relatable team who not only performs well on the field but they also give back to the community around them.
So whether you have been a fan since the beginning, became one during the 2005 season, or if you joined the 12th Man nation this year – we all have something in common, we truly have respect and admiration for the Seattle Seahawks and we will be cheering them on in 96 hours.
And if you haven’t gotten sucked into all the navy and neon green craziness yet, why not join for a day? You know you want to.
It isn’t jumping on the bandwagon, it isn’t being fair weathered. Love for the Hawks is too contagious and too hard to stay away from. They are everywhere.
Go Hawks!
