The Seattle Seahawks’ are taking serious measures to prevent their fans’ season tickets from being resold to opposing fans. They’re hellbent on reclaiming their home-field advantage! In 2020, the conference club posted a stunning 7-1 home mark, good for a share of the league’s best slate. They’re laser focused on ensuring Lumen Field is packed mostly with their rabid fans.
As the 2020 season progressed, every team faced unprecedented challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, they weren’t permitted to have any fans at their home games. With stadiums reopening across the league, the Seahawks have seen a pattern of road teams bringing a heavy contingent of support to Seattle this year. The effect of hostile opposition was well-documented in games against the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills. From their high-energy presence to their thunderous noise, the effect vastly added intensity to the atmosphere.
To address the issue, the Seahawks have opted not to renew season tickets for accounts that have consistently sold all their tickets for regular-season games over multiple years. This approach is self-interested, of course — it’s designed to make sure as many of their diehard fans have a shot at getting tickets. And General Manager John Schneider has repeatedly stressed the importance of a home-field-like atmosphere at what’s now Lumen Field. He announced, “We’ve got to get Lumen on fire again.”
Coach Mike Macdonald acknowledged the enthusiasm of Seahawks fans, particularly noting how they stood out at Mercedes-Benz Stadium during a recent game. He is ready to use the might of local fans to go green. He continued, “It’s all fine and dandy to be 7-1 on the road [last year], but we need to make this place a nightmare for teams that come in here. Let’s use our fans and use our crowd, and get back into this whole ‘12 is 1’ thing.
Wide receiver DK Metcalf recently lamented the same, discussing how annoying it is for so many opposing fans to be storming Lumen Field. He declared, “At some point in the first quarter, might have been the second or third play, it got super loud in there. I turned around and there were just tons of Green Bay fans all around! So they did a great job traveling. I really hope the 12s didn’t sell that many tickets. We don’t want to lose our home-field advantage!
The Seahawks’ failure to hold onto a home-field advantage is evident in their win/loss record from the past four years. Their home winning percentage of only .471 sits them tied for 20th in the country. Prior to 2012, their second-worst home winning percentage was .750 from 2012 to 2019 showing how much the program fell off a cliff.
The group knows more than anyone that they can’t miss another chance to bring their deeply committed fan base en masse. And they are opening up their own measures, modeled completely after successful franchises such as the Green Bay Packers. For the Packers, who have an 80,000-fan strong waiting list for season tickets, it starts with them wanting to fill Lambeau Field with their passionate supporters.
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