In football, “12s” usually refers to the fans of the Seattle Seahawks , seen as the team’s “12th man” or extra player because of how loud and impactful they are on game day.

Quick Scoop: What are “12s” in football?

When people say “the 12s” in a football context, they almost always mean:

  • The passionate fanbase of the Seattle Seahawks.
  • The idea that fans act like an extra player beyond the 11 allowed on the field, by making noise, disrupting opponents, and boosting the home team’s energy.
  • A cultural identity in Seattle: you’ll see “12” flags around the city, at the stadium, and even on buildings during big games.

In other words, “12s” are not players on the roster, but the crowd that’s so active it feels like the team has a twelfth player helping them.

Where the “12” idea comes from

  • In both American football and soccer (association football), only 11 players from each team can be on the field at a time.
  • Calling fans the “12th man” (or “12th player”) is a metaphor: they influence the game through noise, pressure, and atmosphere.
  • The Seahawks embraced this so strongly that their fanbase became officially known simply as “the 12s,” and the number 12 is closely associated with them.

Think of it like this: if the defense has 11 bodies on the field, the roaring stadium full of 12s feels like a whole extra defender the offense has to fight against.

Other ways “12” shows up in football (so you don’t get confused)

There are a couple of other “12” terms you might see:

  • 12th man (general football/soccer) – A generic phrase for any team’s fans, not just Seattle, especially in soccer where supporters are described as the “12th player.”
  • 12 personnel (American football Xs and Os) – A formation label that means 1 running back and 2 tight ends on offense, but that’s usually written or spoken as “12 personnel,” not “12s.”

So if someone says “the 12s were crazy loud in Seattle yesterday,” they’re talking about Seahawks fans, not a formation or age group.🡪 12s = Seahawks fans, 12th man made into an identity.

Mini FAQ

Is “12s” only Seahawks fans?
In practice, yes—“12s” with a capital 12 is now strongly branded around the Seattle Seahawks fanbase, even though the “12th man/player” idea exists more broadly in sports.

Does any player wear number 12 for the Seahawks?
The number 12 is symbolically tied to the fans; the focus is that it represents them as the team’s extra “player,” not a single athlete.

TL;DR:
“12s” in football are the Seattle Seahawks’ fans, branded as the team’s “12th man” because their intense noise and support are treated like having an extra player on the field.

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