The Seattle Seahawks were formed in 1976 as an expansion team and are based in Seattle, Washington. In 1975, the “Seahawks” was chosen as their name through a public naming contest which drew more than 20,000 entries and over 1,700 different names. They are the only team in the Pacific Northwest, being part of the West division of the National Football Conference. As the only team in the Pacific Northwest, they receive a lot of support from a large geographical area, including Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Alaska, and British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. Their fans are known as the “12th Man,” “12th Fan,” and “12s,” and they set a Guinness World Record for loudest crowd noise at a sporting event in September of 2013. They are owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and coached by Pete Carroll.
Even though they are a young team, the Seahawks have had many successes. They are the only team to have played in both National Football Conference (NFC) and American Football Conference (AFC) Championship Games. This is because they have been a member of both conferences, but only in the West division. In 1976, they began in the NFC, but from 1977-2001 they were in the AFC. In 2002, they went back to their origin in the NFC. They have won nine division titles and three conference championships, and they have made three Super Bowl appearances. Their first Super Bowl appearance was in 2006 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, losing 21-10. In 2014, they demolished the Denver Broncos 43-8, winning their first NFL title. The following year they again went on to the Super Bowl, but were defeated 28-24 by the New England Patriots. The Seahawks are the only post-merger expansion team in NFL history to play in consecutive Super Bowls.
Article Written by: Erin Irish