what are the twelves seattle seahawks

The “12s” (sometimes called the “12th Man”) are the Seattle Seahawks’ fanbase, treated as an honorary extra player on the field because of how loud and influential they are during games.

What are the 12s?

• The 12s are Seahawks fans collectively, named as the symbolic “12th player” supporting the 11 players on the field.

• In 1984, the Seahawks retired jersey number 12 in honor of their fans, making it unavailable to players and officially tying the number 12 to the crowd.

• The nickname reflects how their noise disrupts opposing offenses with false starts, miscommunications, and timeouts.

Quick origin snapshot

• The “12th Man” idea in sports traces back to Texas A&M in 1922, where a student stood ready to play, symbolizing fan support.

• Seattle later adopted the concept for its own fans and built a whole identity around the number 12.

• Because Texas A&M trademarked “12th Man,” the Seahawks have more recently emphasized “The 12s” as their fan nickname.

Why the 12s matter in Seattle

• Lumen Field is designed to trap and amplify crowd noise, helping the 12s reach extreme volume levels that opponents hate playing in.

• The 12s have twice broken the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd noise at a sporting event, topping 137 decibels, which is near jet-engine level.

• Their roar has been strong enough to register as seismic activity, most famously during Marshawn Lynch’s 2011 “Beast Quake” touchdown run.

Traditions of the 12s

• A giant 12 flag is raised before home games, often by a former player, local celebrity, or community hero, as a hype ritual for the crowd.

• The retired No. 12 jersey and a special “12th Man Ball” from a 2005 game dedicated to the fans are displayed at the stadium.

• The culture of the 12s extends beyond Seattle, with fans around the world identifying with the number 12 as part of the Seahawks community.

Forum / trending context

In current NFL talk, “the 12s” is shorthand for:

• One of the loudest, most intimidating home crowds in the league, especially in big playoff moments.

• A fan identity that blends civic pride, community involvement, and a reputation for literally shaking the ground when the Seahawks are rolling.

In fan forums and social media, you’ll often see posts like: “The 12s showed up today,” meaning the crowd’s energy was a real factor in the game.

Meta description (SEO):
The 12s, formerly known as the “12th Man,” are the Seattle Seahawks’ famously loud fanbase, honored with the retired number 12 jersey and known for creating quake-level noise at Lumen Field.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.