Will Travel for Fandom

Although it’s true that Rob and I travel a fair amount, it’s always planned and intentional and anticipated. I often say I can be spontaneous with two weeks’ warning.

It is also true that while we continue to slowly inch our way up the waiting list for the waiting list for Seattle Seahawks season tickets (yes, there are two lists), Rob and I excitedly attend one Seahawks game in person each season.

It’s always a super fun day as we don our blue and green, take the train up and back, and yell our fandom with over 60,000 other enthusiastic 12s (Seahawks fans are called “The 12^th Man” or “12s” in honor of being an additional player on the field – we are notoriously loud enough to cause penalties because visiting teams can’t hear play calls).

This season, though, got away from us. With some home repair (not all of it planned…stupid termites) and a sick kitty and general distraction, we never got around to picking a home game to attend. And by the time we realized this, the Hawks were doing so well, tickets for home games were elu$ive.

Jolted by a realization that we can currently travel more spontaneously since we are heartbreakingly kittyless, I started looking at away games. I have long wanted to attend a Seahawks game as a visitor, curious about the experience of being a football outsider. I assumed that meant an eventual visit to San Francisco (49ers), Los Angeles (Rams), or Arizona (Cardinals).

Consulting our calendar, there was one remaining away game that lined up. It was a bit further afield than assumed. After checking frequent flyer accounts and hotel loyalty club balances, I floated my inspiration to Rob.

“What do you think about going to the Seahawks-Panthers game in a couple of weeks?” I slyly asked. Yes, I was reveling in my insane spontaneity.

Within minutes, we were checking flight schedules to see if this crazy idea might actually work.

Several days, lots of miles and points, and many disbelieving giggles later, we had a list of confirmation numbers to prove we were actually going to fly to North Carolina for a football game.  WHO ARE WE?!?

Their mascot is named Sir Purr.
ADORABLE! But not enough
to buy any swag.

The trip was fast and focused. We flew to Charlotte on Friday, visited some newly relocated cousins near Hickory on Saturday, cheered our hearts out in Section 544, Row 9 on Sunday, and flew home on Monday. Our bodies still don’t know what time it is.

My first cousin's daughter and family
(one twin still sleeping). So first cousin
once removed. Or, more appropriately,
Chloe.

As we traveled, I was a little concerned that I didn’t see any other 12s making the trek. Were we going to be lonely voices cheering on Darnold and Smith-Njigba?

Oh, silly naïve me!

Plenty of 12s showed up! But most flew out of Seattle instead of Portland. And few likely finagled a complicated (but free!) itinerary on two separate airlines along the way.

Our hotel – as planned – was within easy walking distance of Bank of America Stadium. Its lobby was increasingly peppered with Seahawks jerseys and t-shirts, especially during the complimentary Wine Social Hour. Conversations started quickly and easily.

Swagged out and ready to cheer!

We met a couple from Mexico City who flew in for the game. They lived in Seattle years ago and became 12s. They were later enthralled by a movie set in Charlotte and longed to visit someday. Their trip to see their beloved American Football team in the enchanting Charlotte was a perfect year-end getaway.

We met a man who bought Seahawks season tickets when the team was still in the Kingdome and the owners were trying to build a fan base. “Yep, bought 4 tickets for $100 each 39 years ago,” he bragged. He was rewarded handsomely with my awe and jealousy.

We met a couple who had lived in Seattle but recently moved to Tennessee. Wife is a HUGE Seahawks fan so they travel to lots of away games. Anticipating other away games someday, I asked about her Visitor experiences. She recommended avoiding San Francisco. “I do not like those fans!” she explained with a story about a sober Faithful throwing food at her Seahawked self as she walked through the parking lot.

When asked about her favorite rival fanbase, the woman said “The Titans [Tennessee]!” without hesitation. She then revealed she was the fan that Wide Receiver and Superstar Jaxon Smith-Njigba had given a touchdown ball to a few weeks prior. “All the Titans fans around me were so excited and happy for me! They even wanted to take pictures of me and the ball!” The shared excitement peaked later in the game when the woman happily exchanged the game ball for a practice ball signed by Jaxon himself. I was in awe yet again.

I remembered this moment from the game!
So cool to meet her!

I wouldn’t be surprised if that nice woman ranked the Panthers fans up there with the Titans revelers. All the fans we encountered were kind and polite, without throwing any food or insults our way despite my wearing vivid green Seahawks gear all weekend. North Carolinians wished my team good luck, “But not too much!” Others shared their tables as we munched hot dogs and told us to enjoy the game. Others asked where we were from and complimented the Seahawks as a good team. Simple, courteous, friendly fans acting like grown-ups. Yay Panthers fans!

On Chloe's recommendation, we
stopped here for my love of all
things pickles. I blended right in. 
Sort of.

On Game Day, we walked to the stadium in a sea of sky blue and black. The dark blue Seahawks jerseys blended in a bit, but the neon green highlights revealed their loyalties.

I packed mostly green gear on purpose.

I was surprised to hear a familiar chant as we turned onto S. Mint Street.

“SEA!!!” one voice boomed above the crowd.

“HAWKS!!!” replied a surprising number of proud, scattered voices.

I joined in for a few chants and then got self-conscious, much to Rob’s relief.

The weather forecast for Game Day changed wildly. At one point before I packed, it was going to be 76 degrees and sunny (much like Saturday turned out to be). When I packed, it was to be high 50s and sunny. What we got was 46 degrees, foggy, and drizzly. We fortunately packed somewhat appropriately. A scarf would have been nice, though.

“Your weather here is menopausal!” I laughed with the bundled Panthers fan next to me in Seat 8. She agreed with shared experience.

“I almost didn’t come this morning when I saw the weather. It’s too cold!” Indeed, she left after the briskly damp first quarter and never returned. Which bummed me out because she and her friends had been a nice windbreak.

I overheard a local say with confidence
that the upper deck is 10 degrees colder.
I believe it!

Although we were not sitting on the Visitors side, we had a smattering of 12s around us. Almost all were transplants, now living in North Carolina and holding tight to their 12ness. Except for the guy in front of us. He explained he was a Panthers fan for his marriage’s sake, until it mattered for the Seahawks. The couple sat together without incident for the entire game. He also went a long way to helping us 12s have a good Visiting Fan Reputation as he quickly offered his towel when a new neighbor showed up and discovered how wet the plastic seats were up in the Fog Zone.

Tatupu played with the Seahawks from
2005-2010. This fan goes back a ways!

The game started in a completely unexpected fashion. Before the national anthem was sung and the mascot appeared on the field and a notable (to them) Panther fan of some sort banged on a large drum as smoke erupted (the Panther rallying cry is “KEEP POUNDING!”), an unassuming middle-aged man with a piece of paper and a microphone approached the end zone. With silence in the stadium, the man prayed for the players, the fans, and our nation. It wasn’t super religious, but it ended with a collective “Amen!” so it was clearly a prayer and clearly a tradition. I wasn’t troubled by it (I often pray during games – always for injured players), but it certainly caught me by surprise!

I was stunned how quiet the stadium
got as soon as he started speaking.

They chant "KEEP...POUNDING!"
They bang on the plastic seat to make
noise. I mused to Rob, "I wonder why the 12s
don't do that?" He replied, "They don't need to."
Truth.

The first half of the game was a bit dicey. It was tied at 3 points at halftime. The slippery ball and field had made for some messy, fumbly plays. Everyone had had reasons to cheer and groan.

But as has been the pattern all season, something magical happened in the locker room. The Seahawks emerged with a renewed plan, insight, and energy. The Panthers fans mostly cheered about getting first downs. The Seahawks fans mostly cheered about getting points. Seahawks fans cheered all around the stadium! And I could hear them, even way over there and closer to the field.

“SEA!!!”  “HAWKS!!!”

My best guess, given my pretty good vantage point, is that about 20% of the fans in attendance were rooting for the Seahawks. They were scattered around the stadium with a concentration on the lower deck behind the team’s sideline. Those fans seemed to be the loudest – and fans who attend home games know how to be loud and let the team know they are there. My cheering voice was not lonely. At all.

12 behind us and in front of us. 
A few more scattered about in 
Section 544. Oh, and we were COLD.

With a little less than 4 minutes left in the game – and a score of 20-10 Seahawks – my peripheral vision caught some movements. Looking towards the crowd to my left, I saw a constant sea of Panthers fans streaming towards the exits. Every row, all around the bowl. I was astounded.

“The fans are leaving?!? With time still to play? Does this happen often??” I asked the group of congenial Panthers fans sitting next to Rob.

One guy just shook his head, as disappointed as I was. While apologizing for his choice of words, he explained that Panthers fans are…wimpy (not his word but a good, family-friendly approximation).

As we discussed the difference in fan bases, the “SEA!!!” “HAWKS!!!” chant echoed noticeably around the stadium. While not as loud as in Seattle by any stretch, the cheering and encouragement for the Seahawks made it clear that the 12s had shown up and shown up well. I was proud to be one of them.

Mass Exodus.
Maybe the prayer was foreshadowing?

As dedicated fans do, Rob and I stayed until the end of the game, sharing disbelief that the Panthers lined up in the (not a) Victory Formation on their last possession. The Seahawks got the ball, appropriately lined up in the Victory Formation, and ended the game to audible cheers with a 27-10 win. Proximate 12s gathered at the visitor exit and cheered loudly as the players headed to the locker room. Had I been closer, I would have eagerly joined them.

The game isn't over! But look at how
empty the stadium is!

Leaving the stadium was oddly familiar. As Rob and I wound our way down the ramps from the upper deck, the “SEA!!!” “HAWKS!!!” chant bounced off the cement walls, just like it does while leaving a home game, win or lose. It made me smile and proud to be part of such an energetic fanbase.

That night at dinner, still boldly wearing our team gear, other 12s didn’t hesitate to come to our table, give high 5s, compare fan stories, and share in the excitement of now being 13 and 3 and the current leader in the NFC West. It was a wonderful feeling of community.

And that’s probably what I will most fondly remember about being a Seahawks fan at an away game: the community.

It is easy to feel a part of a movement when we attend a home game. Most of the passengers on the train are 12s, Seattle is awash in blue and green, Lumen Field bursts with enthusiastic fandom. It’s an instant family and it is easy to feel a part of it.

But being on the other side of the country, wearing the other team’s colors, sitting amongst locals with delightful accents could have left me feeling very outsider and interloperish. It’s what I expected.

Instead, I felt even more a part of the 12s family than even in Seattle.

Without saying a word, all of us sporting Seahawks gear knew we had at least a few things in common – a shared loyalty and the confidence to proclaim it. We were friends even if we didn’t speak. We knew the family traditions and we brought them with us. We were a community.

At times during the game, I wished we were sitting with the larger concentration of 12s down by the team sidelines. It was certainly lively down there! But if I had been down there, it would have felt more like a home game and I would have missed out on the best part of being a visitor. That unexpected and heartwarming feeling of being connected to so many scattered strangers, all sharing a common passion.

SEA!!!  HAWKS!!!

So grateful for experiences like this!
And frequent flyer miles. Super
grateful for those, too.