Last year’s Super Bowl champions are playing this weekend in the NFC Championship game. Here’s some Seattle Seahawks trivia to help you prepare.
- In the early 1970s, the NFL had just merged with the AFL and were looking to expand. However, they had to claim territories in cities before the new, upstart World Football League could, and both leagues were interested in Seattle, Memphis, Phoenix, Honolulu, and Tampa. The WFL picked Honolulu and Memphis; the NFL went with Tampa and Seattle. Luckily for Seahawks fans, the WFL folded in 1975, halfway through its second season.
- In November 1983, the Seahawks played in what would be the fifth-highest-scoring game in NFL history. While playing the Kansas City Chiefs on the road, the Seahawks won 51 to 48 in overtime.
- Dan McGwire, the Seahawks’ backup quarterback from 1991 to 1994 was 6’8” tall—the tallest quarterback in NFL history. (The height didn’t provide much advantage—he threw for two touchdowns in his entire career.)
- Second-year fullback Derrick Coleman is the first deaf offensive player in the NFL. He wears hearing aids and can read lips, which allows him to understand audibles from the quarterback.
- Who’s the most valuable team member in Seahawks history? The team says it’s “The 12th Man.” A “12th Man” flag is raised before games, which refers to the raucous crowd in the stands at home games (there are 11 players on a side during a game, and the 12th man is the spectators collectively). Fans are so enthusiastic that the league instituted a noise rule in the 1980s…but it didn’t do much to silence The 12th Man.
Looking for more sports trivia? Check out Uncle John’s Sport Spectacular.