The History Of The 12s

The Seahawks are celebrating their 40th anniversary of the retirement of the 12 Jersey. Here is the history of the 12s.

Dec 12, 2024 at 09:30 AM

Ari Horton

Seahawks.com Writer

NFL Football: NFC Conference Playoff: San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks Game Action CenturyLink Field/Seattle, WA, USA 1/19/2014 X157457 TK1 Credit: Rod Mar

40 years ago, on December 15, 1984, the Seahawks became the first professional sports teams to retire a jersey in honor of their fans. The fans, affectionately known as the 12s, have been an instrumental part of the Seahawks organization since its inception.

When the Seahawks began playing in their first stadium, the Kingdome, in 1976, the 12s made the Kingdome known for how loud it can get and other teams took notice. Opponents were continually frustrated because of the loud crowd volume, so much so, that the NFL instituted a noise rule in 1989 that allowed referees to penalize defensive teams if, "the level of crowd noise prevents the offense from hearing its signals."

And in 1984, because of the passion and impact the fans made, president Mike McCormack honored the fans by retiring the No. 12. The jersey retirement ceremony took place during their regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos at the Kingdome.

In 2003, the Seahawks introduced a new pregame ceremony that became a tradition to further connect the team to the fans. The ceremony is known as "Raising the 12 Flag," where a special guest raises a flag on the flag deck inside the stadium right before kickoff. The pregame ceremony ignites the crowd and sets the tone for each home game. Participants who raised the flag include Seahawks Legends, Seattle area athletes, actors, musicians, military servicemen and women, heroic first responders, and others.

The 12s were on full display against the New York Giants on November 27, 2005 and showed how instrumental their noise and presence can be to a game. They helped generate eleven false start penalties in a thrilling 24-21 victory in overtime. The eleven false start penalties were the most in franchise history and the victory gave Seattle its seventh-straight victory of the season.

And in 2011, the 12s helped produced seismic activity. On the play now infamously known as "Beast Quake" running back Marshawn Lynch broke through multiple defenders to rush for a 67-yard touchdown in the 2010 NFC Wild Card Game against the Saints, the 12s rocked the stadium and were so loud that it registered a 2.3 magnitude earthquake.

Since then, the 12s have been known as one of the loudest fanbases in all of professional sports and have twice set the Guinness World Record for the loudest crowd noise at a sporting event. The fans reached a peak reading of 136.6 dbA during a 29-3 victory over their division rival San Francisco 49ers on September 15, 2013. And then again in 2013, the the 12s broke their own record, reaching 137.6 dB in the Seahawks Monday Night Football game against the Saints.

With all of their enthusiasm, passion and impact they have made, the 12s community has grown immensely and today, there are millions of 12s everywhere around the world wearing their 12 jerseys, flying their 12 Flags, and cheering on the Seahawks. With all of the fans everywhere, the Seahawks have a strong international fan base. 12s can be found in Canada, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and many more places. Their legacy is undeniable and their impact on the game is immeasurable.