Fandom 250: 12s Ranked as 77th best fanbase worldwide
By Keith Myers
Fandom 250: In a worldwide ranking of fanbases, the 12th man and the Seattle Seahawks came in at 77th. While a bit low, they at least characterized us well.
This week FanSided (the parent company for 12th Man Rising) unveiled their Fandom 250: Their ultimate ranking of fandoms. This includes sports, entertainment, brands, and music. The Seahawks, and thus us here at 12thMR by proxy, came in at 77th overall.
Given the volume we yell at on game days, and thus the massive home field advantage the Seahawks get from it, this ranking seems a bit low. The 12th Man has even travelled well the last few seasons, generating friendly crowds in San Francisco, Arizona, New Orleans and other stadiums.
Both American political parties ranked about 20 spots behind the Seahawks. I’m not sure if that’s a good sign given the passion the recent election brought out. It could also be a bad sign, given the crap-tastic candidates we were forced to pick between.
Just below the Seahawks are Legos, UFC, and Katy Perry. Just above them are Snapchat, Nascar and Lady Gaga. That’s not exactly hallowed ground the Seahawks are in being in that part of the list.
On the other hand the Seahawks are 7th-highest NFL team. That puts them above 24 other franchises. Here are the ranks of all the NFL teams that made the list:
5. Dallas Cowboys
21. Green Bay Packers
23. Pittsburgh Steelers
30. New England Patriots
53. Oakland Raiders
66. Denver Broncos
77. Seattle Seahawks
84. Buffalo Bills
86. Fantasy Football
149. Philadelphia Eagles
169. Chicago Bears
173. Cleveland Browns
175. New York Jets
179. Minnesota Vikings
180. New York Giants
215. Washington
It is difficult to argue with any of the teams chosen to be above Seattle, but Dallas is ranked way too high. Their home game are often like road games for the Cowboys with all the road fans in the building. There’s no way they belong in the top 20.
As for the Seahawks, I think they nailed our existence fairly well:
"The Seahawks don’t have the national following of some other teams, but no team has a more passionate fanbase."
Next: Seattle ground game finally gets traction
In that sense the authors of this list deserve some credit. We 12s are more passionate than other fanbases out there. As for our national appeal, just give Seattle time. As dominant as they’ve been in the last decade, the Seahawks are beginning to develop a national following like some of the older teams have.