a member of a band of irregular soldiers that uses guerrilla warfare, harassing the enemy by surprise raids, sabotaging communication and supply lines, etc.
Now you can say the Seahawks 12th Man is a band of irregular soldiers. The Seahawks 12th Man is notorious for harrassing visiting teams to Qwest Field. Creating such problems as disrupting communication between the visiting teams offensive players.
bandwagoner
In sports, someone who shamelessly cheers for a particular team not because he likes them or follows them faithfully, but only because that particular team is the "popular" choice or has been or is the top team in their specific sport recently. When that team which bandwagoners follow falls from grace, they gleefully jump on the next teams bandwagon and cheer for that team.
Many of us Seahawk fan's here are labeled as "Bandwagoner's" despite the constant barrage of Super Bowl history lessons or lack there of. And then the discrediting of our Division Titles as nothing to be proud of by the same history professors. We Seahawk fan's are reminded of our unpopularity by the national media and other fan bases. Thus making the Seahawks, NOT a popular bandwagon choice by definition. Therefore, being a Seahawks fan contradicts the definition of "bandwagoner".
Guerrilla warfare resembles rebellion, yet it is a different concept. In the Seahawks and their 12th Man's case, a rebellion against the tyranny of the national media and other teams history. Guerrilla organization ranges from small, local rebel groups of a few thousand guerrillas, to millions of fighters, deploying from cells to regiments. The Seahawks fan base is relatively small, but none the less, very much noticed.
Being a fan of the Seahawks is humbling and gratifying at the same time. We Seahawk fans understand defeat and raise our 12th Man flag no matter what. Gratifying is the feeling we have knowing we follow a team faithfully that is not the popular choice, but a team that strives to be a Champion.
I would like to examine the anatomy of the 12th Man in this post. The history of the 12th Man originated from Texas A & M and their student bodies obligation to the 11 players on the field and E. King Gill. Texas A & M trademarked their famed 12th Man slogan, but NFL teams carried this iconic label to their fan bases. Texas A & M requested NFL teams to stand down on the use of the 12th Man label. And all the teams that used the label did, except one.........the Seahawks. After the Seahawks denied the request from Texas A & M, the university filed a lawsuit against the Seahawks. The lawsuit was quickly settled out of court and we now have the Seahawks 12th Man.
What I'd like to look at, is the transformation of the Seahawks 12th Man. Us Seattlites have been stereotyped as computer nerds, treehuggers, coffee addicts and so on. So what happens to us when a Seahawks game is played here in Seattle? In my previous post, I gave a brief history on the crowd noise generated from the 12th Man at the Kingdome and now Qwest Field. So lets take a quick look at this metamorphosis.
Here are a couple images of a stereotypical Seattlite.
Now when you introduce a stereotypical Seattlite to anything Seahawks related, a change occurs. This phenomenon has been witnessed by many other NFL teams and visiting fans. Some NFL players have even made accusations that this is all staged and is an artificial show. But we will take a look at a short video documented transformation of this event.
:::Injecting Seahawkorphine:::
:::Transformation:::
In this next photo, we have documented what most will call a bandwagoner. He is only loyal to teams with recent success and may follow a team with a history of championships just to fit in. As you can see, the bandwagoner does not fully metamorphasize into a 12th Man. It's actually pretty sad to see this type of situation.
In the end, what I have found. Is that the Seahawks 12th Man comes from all walks of life, race, gender, and geological location. The Seahawks 12th Man is howling from all around the world and theres nothing that can stop it. Despite no Super Bowl victories, the Seahawks 12th Man continues to grow.
After a dismall rushing season in 2007 for the Seahawks, the 12th Man and the Seahawks own defense was left wondering what is going to be done in the offseason to remedy this? Something had to be done to curb our lack luster 3rd down conversion rating and help keep our defense on the bench to rest.
Enter Tim Ruskell's answers for 2008.
First was the signing of 2-time Pro-Bowler LG Mike Wahle. Mike was acquired from Carolina quickly after he was released by the Panthers for cap space. Wahle was just the beginning of our puzzle.
Now we needed that guy who would pound the ball that one yard we needed soooooo many times. Hello, TJ Duckett! TJ has always been used in conditional situations. He has been sidelined watching Dunn and Vick compete for the team rushing title. Atlanta dubbed these three D.V.D., but it turned out to be more of a V.D., if you know what I mean? The Redskins used TJ for a cheerleader as Portis came up short many of times. And well Detroit was just a road bump on his way here to Seattle where he is expected to get the ball on 3rd and 1.
Now the draft. Tight End has been a very elusive position for the Seahawks. John Carlson demonstrated great rush blocking and pass protection at Notre Dame. While doing so, he proved great offensive skills running his pass routes and actually catching the ball. He also played basketball his freshman year at Notre Dame helping his versitility. But the key thing about him is his blocking abilitity.
With the loss of Mack Strong, everyone hoped Leonard Weaver would step in and pick up where Mack left off. It's kind of like a Mariners fan comparing Jose Vidro to Edgar Martinez at DH. You just can't make it happen. Mack is HARD to replace, but with our 5th round pick we grabbed the pyscho FB Owen Schmitt. This guy takes pride in leading the way for his RB's so much that he takes opponents face masks for trophys. Owen owns face masks of 11 players that have dared to step in front of him.
These were just four of the pieces I wanted to talk briefly about in Tim Ruskell's skeme of things. There is no question in my opinion Ruskell is doing what he can to get us that Vince Lombardi Trophy. Tim has made many interesting moves this offseason and has given the coaching staff many new options.
Maybe Weaver and Carlson in a Double TE roll. Bring the FB David Kirtman into the game plan for those times we might do a Double TE. Kirtman was only the FB at USC that led the way for Bush and White. Then Schmitt could back-up Kirtman for the time being.
So many choices, I know J. Jones is foaming at the mouth from what he is seeing. Jones may have just set himself up for a Priest Holmes type situation, when Holmes came out from under Jamal Lewis' shadow in Baltimore to sunny days in KC. Yes I know Holmes was injured and was never the same there. But Priest had a couple good years in KC.
Anyways, this might be one of the most physical Seahawks teams assembled in my memory, on both sides of the ball? I like what I see and I don't give predictions. So I am not calling for the trophy yet. Just a little excited to see how this all pan's out.
team not because he likes them or follows them faithfully, but only because that particular team is the "popular" choice or has been or is the top team in their specific sport recently. When that team which bandwagoners follow falls from grace, they gleefully jump on the next teams bandwagon and cheer for that team. 
history of the 12th Man originated from Texas A & M and their student bodies obligation to the 11 players on the field and E. King Gill. Texas A & M trademarked their famed 12th Man slogan, but NFL teams carried this iconic label to their fan bases. Texas A & M requested NFL teams to stand down on the use of the 12th Man label. And all the teams that used the label did, except one.........the Seahawks. After the Seahawks denied the request from Texas A & M, the university filed a lawsuit against the Seahawks. The lawsuit was quickly settled out of court and we now have the Seahawks 12th Man.
treehuggers, coffee addicts and so on. So what happens to us when a Seahawks game is played here in Seattle? In my previous post, I gave a brief history on the crowd noise generated from the 12th Man at the Kingdome and now Qwest Field. So lets take a quick look at this metamorphosis.
bandwagoner. He is only loyal to teams with recent success and may follow a team with a history of championships just to fit in. As you can see, the bandwagoner does not fully metamorphasize into a 12th Man. It's actually pretty sad to see this type of situation.
