We are the 12th man.

WE are the 12th man.

 I did not know that the number 12 was retired with the Seahawks until this year when I asked a Young Life girl with a cute Seahawks beanie who number 12 belonged to and she gave me a "you've got to be kidding me" look and said something like "The fan! You idiot!"  So, maybe I wasn't well-informed on the happenings of our local football team.  I always wanted them to win over any other team but my watching of football was really a matter of convenience. Meaning, if it was already on in the room I would glance at it while reading...doing dishes...messing on the computer...whatever.  Well, here I am, happy to jump on the 12th man bandwagon.  I know there are TONS of Seahawks fans that are tried and true through the years.  They have stuck by them through thick and thin, cheering wildly whether there was a world record to beat or not. I feel especially happy for those kinds of fans who have been faithfully watching this team develop into what it is. 

I cannot claim to be one of them.

However, there are a few thousand Seattle-ite/Washingtonians that are like me who have been swept into the excitement of this season. We quickly learned who all the important players are, read up on the back-stories (skittles, injuries, chips-on-shoulders, etc.) and refreshed our knowledge of the intricacies of football rules.  I think this is ok.  

 Nate always chuckles lovingly at me because I get super excited about anything that is a "community event."  I love it when everyone gathers together with a similar purpose and we connect because we all care about SOMETHING! This is one of those ultimate community experiences and I have loooved it.  Suddenly everyone at work is participating in blue Friday, sometimes even blue-every-day-of-the-week.  We wave flags proudly.  We project 12s on everything we can. We are eating blue and green dyed bread.  

We are coloring everything blue and green.

We are closing Seattle Icons so we can watch the Super Bowl.

                                   

When walking down the streets of Seattle you can yell "Sea" from anywhere and expect the echo of "hawks" to quickly follow behind.  

We think we are absolutely necessary for the Seahawks to win and they encourage us by speaking of the 12th man every time they are interviewed. We   ARE necessary.  We are the 12th man.