The Seattle Seahawks “12s” are the team’s fans — a nickname meaning they are the “12th player” on the field, alongside the 11 players in the game.

What “12s” Means

  • In American football, only 11 players from each team are on the field at a time, so fans are symbolically called the 12th player because of their impact on the game.
  • For the Seahawks, “12s” is now the official name for their fanbase and is used instead of the older term “12th Man.”

How It Started

  • In 1984, the Seahawks retired jersey number 12 specifically to honor their fans, formally recognizing them as that extra “player.”
  • For years they used the phrase “12th Man,” but that wording was originally associated with Texas A&M, leading to a licensing deal and later a shift to just calling fans the “12s.”

Culture and Traditions of the 12s

  • The 12s are famous for being extremely loud at home games in Seattle (Lumen Field), often causing false starts and communication issues for opposing offenses.
  • The stadium and fan culture are designed to amplify noise, and crowd volume has even set Guinness World Records for loudest crowd at a sporting event, measured at over 137 decibels.
  • The “12 flag” is a big part of the ritual: a flag with the number 12 is raised before games, and 12 banners and flags show up all over Seattle during big playoff runs.

Around Seattle

  • You’ll see 12 flags on buildings, homes, bars, and even major landmarks around the city and region when the team is rolling, especially late-season and playoff time.
  • “12s” shows up on jerseys, car flags, and merch everywhere; it’s become a shorthand for Seahawks identity across the Pacific Northwest.

TL;DR: When people talk about the Seattle Seahawks “12s,” they’re talking about the fans — a loud, organized, and officially honored fanbase that the team treats as an extra player on game day.

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