A squawking Seahawks bar in 49ers territory

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As 49ers fans pack bars Sunday to root for Kaepernick and the boys to put down the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game in Seattle, one pub will be awash in blue, gray and lime green.

Sorry, that's "College Navy," "Wolf Grey" and "Action Green."

If you've been a Sunday regular at Danny Coyle's in San Francisco's Lower Haight, you probably already know these things. The place has become the city's Seahawks bar, a refuge for fans who think Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson is superior to Colin Kaepernick.

This development can be credited to - or blamed on - Jerome Zech.

"It's my church," said Zech, a 30-year-old San Francisco resident and Seattle transplant who works in mobile advertising. "It's definitely the only place I would want to watch a game outside of actually being there."

San Francisco, as a destination city, has always had watering holes partial to out-of-town teams. The Connecticut Yankee in Potrero Hill has a reputation as a New England Patriots bar, while Giordano Bros., with locations in the Mission and North Beach, has long drawn Steelers loyalists.

But Danny Coyle's wasn't always a gathering spot for Seahawks fans. Before Zech came along, it was a fairly typical Irish pub, hosting viewings of European soccer matches and weekly trivia nights, and welcoming a mix of football allegiances.

But that changed when Zech - who DJs under the name "Jerry Nice," a nod to 49ers great Jerry Rice, who also played for the Seahawks - noticed the bar while shopping for records across the street. He stopped in for a beer, liked the feel of the place and decided to make it his game-day destination.

"It was kind of a matter of 'if you build it, they will come,' " Zech said.

Jerome Zech has transformed Danny Coyle's from a fairly typical Irish pub to a haven for Seattle Seahawks fans. Jerome Zech has transformed Danny Coyle's from a fairly typical Irish pub to a haven for Seattle Seahawks fans. Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close A squawking Seahawks bar in 49ers territory 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

The shift from neighborhood pub to Seahawks sanctuary didn't happen overnight. For years Zech would watch games at the bar with a handful of friends - and sometimes by himself - often drawing the ire of locals.

"It took a long time to get things off the ground and it was really difficult," he said. "I spent a lot of time in there with a target on my back."

Then Zech undertook an aggressive promotion campaign, which included encouraging friends to write on Yelp and other websites that Danny Coyle's was the place to be for Seahawks die-hards. Those reviews would then pop up when like-minded fans did Internet searches, looking for a place to watch a game.

"One became two, two became five and five became what you have today," he said.

What you have today is a lime green plume of algae in an ocean of red and gold. Last Saturday, when Seattle beat the New Orleans Saints in the divisional playoff round, lines of fans decked out in jerseys jockeyed for position in front of the bar.

Pro-Seahawks chants - often led by Zech - could be heard echoing down the surrounding streets.

The bar hung a "12th man" jersey from the front window, a reference to the famously loud fans at Seattle's home stadium.

Danny Coyle's being perhaps the only self-declared Seahawks bar in the city is perfectly fine for co-owner Siobhan Coyle, even though she's a 49ers fan. After all, the customers still pay with green money - even if they're sporting "Action Green."

"It gets pretty crazy, but it's that good kind of crazy," she said. "They get up on the tables and do their chants, but everyone is having a good time."

Neighbors don't seem bothered, either, though MeganHarris, a 33-year-old consultant and 49ers fan who lives five doors down from the bar, said this week, "Hopefully the Niners will win so they have a little less to cheer about."

For Zech, promoting his love of the Seahawks in the heart of San Francisco has led to some trash talk and a few confrontations with 49ers fans. But he said that was outweighed by the pride he feels when surrounded by his fellow feathered fans.

Ultimately, he said, San Francisco having a Seahawks bar is a testament to the greatness of the city.

"It's going to sound weird coming from a Seahawk fan," he said, "but I really did all this because I love San Francisco."