An interesting thought about our expanding fan base

[Sarlacc83]

Hogwash, it's much more of a commitment for west coast fans to travel to road games. If you are a Steelers fan in Pittsburgh, then all three of your division rivals are within easy driving distance (2 hours to Cleveland, 3.5 hours to Baltimore, 4 hours to Cincinnati).

Not sure if you are responding to me or not. Not disagreeing with anything you said, but I am making a different point. Only a minority of Steelers fans actually live in or around Pittsburgh. They are a small market team with a massive national fanbase.

Packers are the same thing. I saw a local news poll last year that showed there were as many Packers fans in Oregon as Seahawks fans. I'm not really talking about a "native" fanbase traveling, I'm talking more about expanding a fanbase nationally (and perhaps internationally) to people who are not from the Northwest but want to be part of a winner.

You also have to remember that many of those Northeastern and Midwestern teams had fans spread across the US due to economic issues back in the late 70s and early 80s. That, plus the successes the teams like Dallas, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, etc. had in that era helped make them "national."

If the Seahawks are going to start developing a national fanbase, they're going to need to keep playing at this level for YEARS and they're going to need to win a couple of championships. Even so, I don't know that they'll be able to do what those prior teams did, mainly because a lot of the love for those Steelers and Cowboys teams came from the fans' connection with the characters on the team. There's no way the 70s Steelers keep the Steel Curtain together in the age of salary caps and free agency. They'd have almost been guaranteed to lose part of that identity.

I knew you were going to bring this up before I got to it, vols.

I think we're underrating the diaspora of national fanbases. It looks like Steelers and Packers fans travel, but in reality, it's more likely you're seeing a vast number of people who lived in the area. Winning will definitely help build a fanbase, but just as soon as some other team starts to displace Seattle in 10 years, those bandwagon fans will drop off for the next big thing. It's what they do. Maybe a few remain loyal, but I doubt it. The loyal fanbases exist because of time and family. You won't be seeing as many people running out of the Pacific Northwest as is necessary to create the bigger national fanbase like those other teams. Unless you want Boeing, Microsoft, and CostCo to basically abandon the area. I don't think anyone would want that.

 

[The Radish]

We need to have shirts printed up and distributed immediately denoting us as real hawk fans, not bandwagoners. As a season ticket holder I sat through every game of the Jim Mora era as well as Holmie's final year. That makes me a better fan than the newbies, obviously. Don't want to lose that street cred.

This is one of the reasons we don't allow talk about "real fans" here, it just brings bad feelings.

I'm from Washington State and consider myself a long term fan but before I got so tired of the NFL's bullshit I had some other teams I liked too.

But when I hear about a fan who has not been to Seattle, ride a bus 17 hours over a weekend to attend a game in North Carolina, that sounds like a "real" fan to me. Its just a hard area.

Yes many of the prime teams fans live closer to each other than the 3,000 miles to Seattle. But I agree there are many Packers, Giants, Pissburgh, fans and others that live in Washington State and never have graced the famous wall of their teams stadium.

I'm just glad to see we are now attracting some of those people.

:les:

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

I think another thing contributing to the rise in popularity is their defense. It seems like high-octane offenses have become the norm and common place, whereas it's hard to find nasty, hard-hitting defense around the league these days. At the same time, most long-term NFL fans grew up watching tough defenses...and regardless of what Goodell thinks, fans still like watching it. For example, they are literally the only team in the league with a "known" secondary as a position group (versus individual players). There's just something awesome about watching demolition.

You have a great point here that shouldn't go unnoticed. Even as obvious as it might seem... very worth noting. I'm involved in coaching youth football in Central Florida and the impressionable young players know I'm a Hawks fan. They see me wearing gear and the comments I get are, "That Defense is sick!" I love hearing that... from kids in Florida!

 

[LawlessHawk]

I think another thing contributing to the rise in popularity is their defense. It seems like high-octane offenses have become the norm and common place, whereas it's hard to find nasty, hard-hitting defense around the league these days. At the same time, most long-term NFL fans grew up watching tough defenses...and regardless of what Goodell thinks, fans still like watching it. For example, they are literally the only team in the league with a "known" secondary as a position group (versus individual players). There's just something awesome about watching demolition.

You have a great point here that shouldn't go unnoticed. Even as obvious as it might seem... very worth noting. I'm involved in coaching youth football in Central Florida and the impressionable young players know I'm a Hawks fan. They see me wearing gear and the comments I get are, "That Defense is sick!" I love hearing that... from kids in Florida!

It's funny how kids are, my son's been wearing his Seahawks t-shirts, etc. to high school down here in SoCal and pretty much all his buddies, no matter who their favorite team is, can't stop talking about the Seahawks, the Legion of Boom, Russell Wilson, Beast Mode and how they're going to win the Super Bowl.

My son says he feels like a celebrity just wearing hawks gear.

 

[aawolf]

I hope the Seahawks don't become a bandwagon team like the 90's Dallas Cowboys/Chicago Bulls/NY Yankees. You can always tell a person that pulls for those teams today is an unloyal bandwagoner that only started liking these teams because they were dynasties. I have always thought that such bandwagoners are a little douchy because their fandom is based on winning and not on a connection to the players or the town. I hope the Seahawks are a dynasty, but as I've only been a "fan" since y'all drafted Russell Wilson, I hate to be lumped with all the new bandwagoners that will come once Seattle wins a few Superbowls and are only "fans" because they want to be associated with a winning team. I would have pulled for y'all if you were a 1-15 team for what its worth.

 

[NJSeahawk]

Im just going to get a brand new 12 jersey, and have "njbandwagoner" stitched on. I know my east coast brethren and any one out of WA understands.

 

[AZHawkfan]

I moved to AZ a few years ago from Seattle and I can tell you this. There is a unbelievable amount of Seahawk fans in AZ. The Seahawks bar in Scottsdale routinely gets a couple of hundred for the games and it was getting to full they opened up a second official Seahwaks bar. Also just driving around I am starting to see Seahawks stickers/decals on cars constantly. People at work come up to me and always want to talk about the Hawks and they absolutely think they are most fun team to watch in the league. Its really awesome to see.

 

[drdiags]

It would be interesting to see 20-30% numbers consistently across the league for away games attendance by Seahawks fans.

Some other factors that lead to good away games fan participation are population density helping many of the old school organizations pump up their away games presence as well as having tradition rich organizations. Green Bay may not be a major population center but their deeply ingrained history has spawned millions of devoted followers across the country and the globe. Their coach is one of the acknowledge disciples of the NFL game and has the championship trophy named after him. Landry and Halas in their own rights. Gibbs and Parcells.

Look at Stram and Shula. They are highly acclaimed in NFL annals but the Dolphins and KC Chiefs are not noted for having a huge traveling fanbase, at least not recently.

Thinking about it, I am just not sure the Seahawks could ever reach the level these other organizations have reached with name branding. But I have been wrong more than right numerous of times, so I wouldn't mind being wrong again.

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

It would be interesting to see 20-30% numbers consistently across the league for away games attendance by Seahawks fans.

Some other factors that lead to good away games fan participation are population density helping many of the old school organizations pump up their away games presence as well as having tradition rich organizations. Green Bay may not be a major population center but their deeply ingrained history has spawned millions of devoted followers across the country and the globe. Their coach is one of the acknowledge disciples of the NFL game and has the championship trophy named after him. Landry and Halas in their own rights. Gibbs and Parcells.

Look at Stram and Shula. They are highly acclaimed in NFL annals but the Dolphins and KC Chiefs are not noted for having a huge traveling fanbase, at least not recently.

Thinking about it, I am just not sure the Seahawks could ever reach the level these other organizations have reached with name branding. But I have been wrong more than right numerous of times, so I wouldn't mind being wrong again.

You know, I don't think it's really all that important to me personally if the Seahawks ever reach those said widespread popularity levels. But, it would be nice to see consistent noticeable presence at away games and I'm sure the team would concur.

The rep the current team has earned and which is building now - the coolest team in the NFL with all the personalities (enjoyed that grantland article) - does bring a certain level of satisfaction, though. This Seahawks team now - a mix of that team that some love to hate (got a lot of those haters), feared and coolest - has developed an identity that I would be fine to see stick for years to come. Super Bowl Championships would add ultimate satisfaction to that identity!

 

[AVL]

Sounds like the bandwagon haters are a pretty conservative close minded group. I have been a long time fan of some terrible teams in other sports but never felt a sense of pride or shame for it, mainly depression.

Been following RW around for years and have fallen hard for the Hawks, ESP the D early on.

GO HAWKS!

 

[gargantual]

As a fan of 30+ years I kind of already resent the fact that we're picking up bandwagon fans. Sure, some new faithfuls might come out of following this championship caliber team but I don't like it. Im very guarded of "my team". I, along with most here at .net have been through the trash seasons. we've experienced the hurt and pain of team with a mediocre history and we alone are more deserving of the spoils that are right around the bend. Not some skinny jean Bieber looking hipster who has no clue nor cares about the history of "my team". The fact that gear is being sold out in stores is a strong indicator that people are jumping on en masse. Change is inevitable. i get that. Call my a grumpy old man (cause that's what im sounding like) but in this case, I don't have to like it. GO HAWKS!

I kinda know how you feel. I am no where near 30+ years, but only because i'm not yet 30 years old. This happens to every team that goes on a SB run. Hell, the 9ers fan base was actually pleasant before their, as someone so eloquently put it yesterday, "micro-dynasty" started.

My brother in law is a huge steelers fan. Has been for a long time. He also grew up in WA up in skagit valley where I grew up. During "the" superbowl, he was one of the only people around wearing a steelers jersey, yuck.

So my sister told me the other day, hes starting to talk about the Seahawks a lot more lately... Something short of, but approaching, fandom. No surprise hes not happy with his Steelers. She totally called him out on it, she told him you can't just dump your team for Seattle because Seattle got good and now you want to claim them because you grew up in the area.

I think he should be banned from ever calling himself a seahawks fan for wearing a bumblebee suit during the superbowl...

What would Russell Wilson want us to do? Turn the other cheek. I can understand not being happy with someone who rooted against us in our biggest game ever, but if he comes into the fold......that's one less person rooting for (and buying merchandise from) those Rustbucket pieces of s**t. Magnify that across the country to all the relocated Northwesterners.....heck to anyone for that matter......and it's nothing but good for our team. I say, "All aboard!" to fans from all parts of the world. Great to have you along for the ride.

Plus it's nice to see Paul Allen start to get some serious return for all his faith.....and investment......in the Seahawks.

I, myself, lost interest in football after cheering for them mildly with my Dad as a kid, and came back to football late in the `05 season. Other than going to see them stomp the Chargers in '86 while stationed in San Dog, I didn't really even watch Super Bowls or have any interest in football at all. I've never missed a game since I got on the "bandwagon" and stayed on through the bleak decline years (including staying a rabid fan after moving to out of the PNW in '06) and never intend to do anything else.

I can tell you that I'm raising my youngest son right. He's 5 1/2 but wears Hawks gear and can tell everyone who their quarterback is!