Whether it's the bowl-shaped design or simply a rambunctious, dedicated fan base, the Seattle Seahawks have some of the greatest and loudest fan bases in America, especially in the NFL. At Lumen Field, the noise just hits a different level, and it has latched onto the Seahawks franchise and worked magic for several years.
It's part of what makes the Seahawks not just one of the best NFL cities, but one of, if not the best, fanbases. The bowl-shaped design enhances the noise, as it does at Arrowhead Stadium, home to the Kansas City Chiefs, where, partly because of the design, the roar of the crowds can reach a sports record 142.2 decibels.
Lumen Field is the second loudest in the NFL, with a franchise record level of 137.6 decibels. The stadium design helps, but it's the fans that provide the noise that circulates within the walls, and this was the reality on Saturday when Seattle hosted the San Francisco 49ers in a divisional playoff game. It was so loud at Lumen that it left Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald in shock and awe.
Mike Macdonald raves about Seattle Seahawks fans
The decibel record marked by the Chiefs at Arrowhead holds a Guinness World Record (2014), and while Lumen Field in Seattle has never hit that same mark, everyone knows how loud Seahawks fans are, and if you live and breathe in Seattle, you would of course be biased in claiming Seahawks fans are actually the loudest — and that is perfectly okay.
The NFC divisional playoff matchup between the Seahawks and 49ers wasn't exactly the type of back-and-forth, competitive-laced matchup the NFL would have hoped for. But for Seahawks fans, they don't care. Their team blew out the other team, and that's all they needed to see.
It was a 41-6 blowout, to be exact, and Lumen Field was rocking from kickoff. It was so loud that Macdonald, who should be in the Coach of the Year conversation (alongside his NFC division counterpart, Kyle Shanahan), was blown away after the game and credited the Seahawks fans for their passion and the atmosphere they created.
"What an atmosphere," Macdonald said after the game. "Holy smokes. The 12s, just our organization putting on a great setting. You do try to actually try to take some time and look around and just understand how incredibly blessed we are with the best fans in the world. It definitely made an impact to start the game. I just want to appreciate this. That was awesome, freaking awesome."
According to the Seahawks organization, seismometers were installed around the stadium, and seismic activity was indeed recorded throughout the evening. The first seismic activity was registered when Rashid Shaheed blew the gates off their hinges by returning the game's opening kickoff all the way for a touchdown.
It was electric, to say the least, and the fans loved it. Macdonald wasn't the only one on the Seahawks sideline to credit the fans, though. Cooper Kupp said, "The 12s brought it," while DaMarcus Lawrence called the experience "no better feeling." Julien Love also felt the love and the noise, too, crediting the fans for keeping their energy going all night long.
The Seahawks will bless their fans with another opportunity to shake the ground when the Los Angeles Rams visit for the NFC Championship game this upcoming weekend. If this past weekend's game was loud, you can bet the same thing for the next game. If the Seahawks pull out a win over the Rams, well, you know where that takes them: all the way to the Super Bowl.