Young Fans Don't Know Broncos & Seahawks Were Once Bitter AFC West Rivals
SEATTLE, Wash. (CBS4) - So what are the Seattle Seahawks fans all about? What's it like in enemy territory? CBS4's Stan Bush traveled to the Pacific Northwest and has been getting an earful from Seahawks fans.
Seattle calls their fan base the "12th Man" and CenturyLink Field where they play is considered one of the most hostile environments in all of sports.
"That's why we thought it was a big admission when Seahawks fans we spoke to said the only place they wouldn't want to play is Denver," Bush said.
Bush met one crazed Seahawks fan who went so far as to paint his entire car with the Seahawks color and the team logo.
"I got a crazy idea to build a car for Children's Hospital," the fan said.
He told Bush it took 1,700 hours to paint the car.
Fans line up nearly six hours before they can even see a player at practice.
The number 12 is as hard to miss in Seattle as the Space Needle. It's on buildings, storefronts, scenic views, and where the food flies before it fries at the famous Pike Place Fish Market. Fans there say when they see Denver, they sometimes see themselves.
"The Denver fan base is probably similar to ours," a worker at the fish market said. "It's like, 'We finally got a winner,' and it's exciting."
Denver and Seattle had been rivals for nearly 30 years when the Seahawks were in the AFC West with the Broncos. That rivalry, however, has been dormant like the volcanos surrounding the city since 2002 when the Seahawks moved to the NFC West. But the rivalry may be ready to erupt again.
"Back in the day … I had a 'Broncos Busters' t-shirt on," the fish market worker said. "But now, since we're not like bitter rivals in the same division, it's kind of -- I don't know -- it's kind of lost the animosity. We've got 12 days to rekindle that."
The Broncos land in New York this Sunday. CBS4 is going to be live from the Big Apple as they get ready for the Super Bowl. Watch that coverage this Sunday on CBS4 News art 4 and 10:30 on CBS4.
