Just like all players before a game, my partner and I have superstitions and rituals for game day. "It's only crazy if it doesn't work!" We have Seahawks coffee mugs, uniforms (the most expensive piece of clothing in my closet) and required decorations for the car. Before every kickoff, we have a mandatory pre-game toast:
“Seahawks! By three!”
We thoroughly enjoy the game experience at Seahawks’ Stadium (its original name), designed to put the opposing team at a disadvantage against weather and other factors. That and the noise we produce to distract the opposition on offense is working! The 2012 season produced a perfect 8 - 0 home schedule!
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Opponent False Start Penalties (Since 2005)
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1. Seahawks Stadium
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182
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We also enjoy going to the occasional “away” venue. Interviewed at the Detroit airport before our first Super Bowl, the Seattle Times quoted me and my partner. I said Seahawks fans are arriving “with lots of bells and whistles. Our rental car is going to have four magnetic beaks, two Seahawks flags and two signs that we got at Sunday's rally." She said, “Maybe if this was Miami, I would have flown in earlier…”
Sunday, November 27th 2005, in a dramatic overtime win, the Seahawks defeated the New York Giants who were called for 11 false start penalties and 3 missed field goals — Courtesy of the the 12th MAN’s vocal support. Coach Mike Holmgren dedicated the game ball to the 12th MAN the following day.
UPDATE: October 13, 2013. Ten years ago, twelve fans raised the first "12th Man Flag at the south end of the stadium. Today, our local little league national champions had that honor. Now that is a a highly-anticipated part of each game day. See who else has had that honor: http://www.seahawks.com/12th-Man/flag-raisers.html.
UPDATE: February 5, 2014. 700,000 12th Man fans, more than the official population of Seattle, gathered to celebrate their Super Bowl win during a parade. The 12th Man phenomenon makes every fan into a team member, winning when their team wins. The value of the 12th Man to the team's success is recognized by the team:
"The 12th Man has an unparalleled impact on game days." - Pete Carroll.
A favorite Seahawk game moment for me occurred January 17, 2007, during the last seconds of a playoff game. The visiting Cowboys (yeah, “America’s Team”) were about to win during the last few seconds of the game by kicking an easy, close field goal That’s not what happened.
The coordinates for the cache will be calculated with the answer to two questions:
The team member whose jersey was retired December 15, 1984? That number times 65.2 will be the latitude minutes decimals. N 47 49.xxx [checksum is 17].
The only jersey that was retired while a current team member? That number times 69.9 will be the longitude minutes decimals. W 122 19.yyy [checksum is 20].
The final is within a Lynnwood County Park, with permission of course. Please respect its open hours. It is accessible by a paved trail that begins at nearby parking. No bushwacking is required. It is less than ten feet off that trail.
When you write your log, I would enjoy hearing if you have a favorite fan moment.