12th Man Rising
FanSided

Seattle Seahawks: NFL’s most hated team?

By Dan Viens

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I blame social media and reality TV.

No, seriously I do.

Social media has given us a vehicle to immediately express ourselves to thousands of people at once, and share with them what happens to be on our mind in that very second. Some of us are better than others at editing ourselves before we hit send.

And then there’s the anonymity aspect of it.  Troll a couple 49er fans on Twitter, for example, and you may find that person’s entire Twitter feed to be filled with nothing but criticism and insults. Too many people feel a deep-seeded need to spew negativity, and it’s far too easy to throw that out in the Twittersphere without fear of any real repercussion.

And this is where reality TV comes in.  An entire industry has been created around shows that purposefully throw people into a show together, people who absolutely hate each other, and let them argue and yell at each other for an hour at a time.  And somehow, this makes these people into celebrities.  “Housewives” are getting rich and spawning their own individual million-dollar corporations for no other reason than they’re really good at being horrible people. The generation of young people who has grown up watching these shows, are the same generation who grew up with social media at their fingertips 24/7.  It’s a lot more “cool” nowadays to be really negative.

So what the hell does any of this have to do with the Seahawks?

The point I’m trying to make is that the Hawks have now become the most hated team in the league. And that’s a good thing.

It means they’re good, they know it, they’re outspoken, and they have a big personality.

It means they’re interesting.

And it means opposing fans are afraid they aren’t going away any time soon, as much as they want them to.

Never has this been more evident than this offseason.  Fans of the 49ers, Cardinals, and other NFL teams are seemingly up in arms about the teams latest big contract extensions.  When Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner were handed $130.6 million combined in the span of 48 hours last week, other fans were stunned, upset, and jealous. There are accusations of breaking salary cap rules all over the internet, and according to other fans the team will surely be doomed in a year or two because of irresponsible financial management.

Remember those 5 stages of team development?  The Seahawks have risen through those ranks.  Just 6 years ago the team was a laughinstock (Jim Mora), then the BeastQuake playoff run against the Saints (following a 7-9 division championship season) made them the loveable underdog.  After Russell Wilson’s rookie year they were clearly the Next Big Thing, and then after winning Super Bowl XLVII they were on top of the world. The fact they are making moves to lock up their key players for years, maintaining the core that got them to this point, is heartbreaking to opposing fans who have been hoping and in some cases counting on their eventual fall from grace.

You’ve heard the saying about when you’re on top there’s nowhere to go but down? Pete Carroll and John Schneider are trying to defy that perception.

If they do, then I say keep the hate coming. Anyone who knows this team knows it only adds fuel to their fire.

Besides, it beats the alternative.  Anyone want to see them become lovable losers again?

I didn’t think so.

Next: Is Christine Michael trade bait?

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