Seattle Seahawks - 12th Man

12th Man

The term "12th Man" was coined and marketed to represent Texas A&M Aggies fans after the 1922 Dixie Classic. While intellectual property laws recognize such common law uses in trademark disputes, the official registration of the mark was not filed by Texas A&M (U.S. Reg. No. 1948306) until September 1990, and later significantly bolstered by the passage of the Federal Dilution Trademark Act of 1995. This law allowed Texas A&M to use potential damage to the trademark through dilution as a justification in its lawsuit against the Seattle Seahawks. According to statements made by Texas A&M officials, they sent requests to stop using the phrase to the Seattle Seahawks (2004, 2005), Buffalo Bills (undated), and the Chicago Bears (undated). Both the Bills and the Bears responded to the requests stating they would no longer use the phrase, however the Seahawks failed to respond to the request.

In January 2006, Texas A&M filed suit against the Seattle Seahawks to protect the trademark and in May 2006, the dispute was settled out of court. In the agreement, Texas A&M licensed the Seahawks to continue using the phrase "12th Man" in exchange for a licensing fee and public acknowledgement by the NFL franchise as to Texas A&M's ownership of the phrase.

The Seahawks have some of the loudest fans in the NFL, dating back to the days of the Kingdome. In 1984, the number twelve was retired to honor the fans.

The Seahawks began playing at CenturyLink Field in 2002. Every regular season and playoff game at CenturyLink Field since the 2nd week of the 2003 season has been played before a sellout crowd, a streak of 52 consecutive games.

Inside CenturyLink Field the noise level can reach as high as 137 decibels, or the equivalent of a jet engine. Indeed, this has caused problems for opposing teams, making them have numerous false starts and penalties. From 2005 through the beginning of the 2010 season, fans have caused a league-high 107 false start penalties.

Prior to kickoff of each home game, the Seahawks salute the loudest fans in the NFL by raising the 12th man flag at the south end of the stadium. Current and former players and coaches, various local celebrities, fans, other Seattle area athletes, and current owner Paul Allen have raised the flag.