Many Seattle area residents on the east side had a rough week in the days ahead of the Seahawks Week 12 game versus the Arizona Cardinals. Due to a bomb cyclone that went through the region last Tuesday, nearly half a million people lost power for days. That included the Seahawks' headquarters in Renton, though the team not having power versus a family of four is something different.
Some might not have blamed 12s for not showing up to Lumen Field to watch their favorite team play. Life is more important than football, after all. If one has to stay home to throw spoiled food out of their refrigerator instead of taking the bus downtown, then life things need to happen. But dang it, if Seattle football fans did not show up as they always do, get extremely loud.
There have been times over the last few seasons when the crowd was certainly not as consistently loud as 12s were during the Legion of Boom days. That makes sense. It's easier to be vocal when one thinks their team has a good chance of winning, and more difficult to be loud when the team is beginning to do bad things on the field. That might be changing in 2024, though.
Geno Smith gives a brilliant response about 12s after Seahawks Week 12 victory
After Seattle started 3-0, the team then lost five of six games. The last of those losses was to the Los Angeles Rams in a game Seattle might have won if not for some terrible mistakes by quarterback Geno Smith. The defense played exceedingly well and the same has remained true in Seattle's last two games, both wins that have gotten the team back to 6-5 and in first place in the NFC West.
Seattle still has issues. The offense has been inefficient and lacks a solid running game even though Kenneth Walker III has the talent to be one of the more productive running backs in the NFL. Smith still makes passes where one might rightly wonder what he was looking at before he threw the ball. The defense has suddenly seemed to learn what head coach Mike Macdonald wants and is playing freer and faster.
12s, though? Seahawks fans still have the power to change the outcomes of plays. That, in turn, can change the potential outcomes of games. Players and coaches notice and know that. Certainly, Geno Smith does.
After Seattle's Week 12 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Smith was asked about Seattle's win but many fans not having power for several days. Smith answered perfectly by saying, "It’s funny because they were electric today."
There certainly does appear to be a palpable change with the team and fans over the last few weeks. The team is beginning to believe in itself, and 12s are beginning the believe in the team. The next few years might be very good to be a Seahawks fan.