PHOENIX – Sorry, New England. You’ve been outnumbered.

And that’s putting it lightly.

It’s impossible to attach a ratio to the amount of Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots fans here for Super Bowl XLIX, if only because the Pats presence is virtually nonexistent.

“We were talking earlier, we’ve seen maybe less than a half-dozen Patriots fans here,” Seahawks fan Ryan Honeysett said. “That’s who we are, that’s the 12, we show up.”

And they show up in droves. Downtown Phoenix has been awash in blue and green this week, as the “12th Man,” the adapted nickname for a fan base so boisterous that they’re considered an extension of the roster, has created a vibrant energy in the streets that’s absent any semblance of New England flavor.


Granted, a hefty portion of Patriots fans were snowed in earlier this week, thanks to the blizzard that dumped a Danny Amendola height of snow across the region, but with two days before kickoff, it’s clear that Sunday’s game will be a Seattle crowd.

“Sorry, that sucks,” Seahawks fan Vanessa Ryan, originally from Seattle, but now living in Arizona, said. “You guys gotta try and pump it up if you want to try and compete with us.”

The Seahawks fan presence here also puts to rest that it’s the design of CenturyLink Field that gives the team such an advantage from the crowd. The 12th Man is proof that their reputation isn’t about acoustics, but a very real passion for their team.

“When they moved eventually to the NFC, it took a little while to get used to those teams, and once it did, it really became it’s new environment,” said Scott Ryan, originally from Vancouver, now living in Arizona, where the “Arizona Seahawkers” are generally known as the second-largest contingent of Seattle fans in the country. “They really built the fan experience around the “Clink,” and it’s something very uniquely Seattle uniquely their own. The 12th Man is a unique Seattle thing.”


The defending Super Bowl champs have elicited a confidence and a swagger among their fans.

“It’s going to be rocking,” Ryan Honeysett, from Puyallup, Wash. “We’re the 12’s.”

That’s a morale that has trickled down to the fan base. Honeysett’s entire family booked their trip to the Super Bowl back on June 6, avoiding the outrageous prices other fans are have to dish out this week. It looked for some time like they’d be here roaming the landscape with Green Bay Packers fans, that is until Seattle’s rousing comeback in last Sunday’s NFC Championship game.

“Everybody is that passionate about their team,” Tino Carrido, from Tacoma, Wash., said. “You walk down the streets here, you hear “Sea. Hawks.” You don’t here anything about “Pa.” “Tri.” “Ots.” Nobody is chanting for the Patriots. You don’t really hear that anywhere.”

Carrido suggests its this passion that has the Seattle jersey with “12” adorned on it, one of the hottest sellers in the NFL. Even more than Rob Gronkowski, he said.

“It’s a feeling. If you don’t have that feeling, you’re not a 12th Man,” Carrido said, admitting he’s a newcomer to the group. “I just discovered mine when I watched that Packers comeback. I’ve been what you would call a bandwagoner. Being so depressed and watching them come back and get that win, changes everything.”

Dave Miller, a Seahawks season-ticket holder since their inception 40 years ago. When the Seahawks played the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale last month, he estimated that somewhere between 110,000 and 115,000 fans showed up in the area. It might be double that this week.


“Even when we’re down, we have hope,” Miller said. “Because we don’t lose. [Quarterback] Russell [Wilson] and the whole team they just have this grit about them and a confidence that they are going to stick together and win these games.”

Whether or not they win Sunday is still up for debate. But University of Phoenix Stadium will definitely be a home-field advantage for Seattle, unless something changes drastically in the two days remaining before the Super Bowl.

Just like their own backyard for the Seahawks.

“If you go to a game out there, it is so loud that you can feel the voices,” Vanessa Ryan said, “and you’re so into the game that nothing else can distract you.”