Seahawks celebrate 12/12/12 in honor of the 12th Man

Where were you when the clock struck 12:12 on 12/12/12? Celebrating? The Seattle Seahawks media department sure was. The franchise that retired #12 in honor of its fans took to Twitter to celebrate the offbeat holiday. What resulted was an instagram-a-thon that provided an inside look at CentruyLink Field and the history of the Seahawks' "12th Man".

For those not yet indoctrinated, a brief history of the 12th Man: In 1976, the Seahawks joined the NFL as an expansion team. Quickly Seattle faithful became known as the loudest fans in football, using crowd noise to affect the performance of the opposing team. In 1984, the team retired the #12, which hangs in the rafters alongside Steve Largent's #80 and Cortez Kennedy's #96.

The Seahawks and their fans took the concept even further in 2003, when it became a CLink tradition to have fans, celebrities or local politicians raise a flag that bears #12 before every home game. Along with Seahawks legends like Walter Jones...

....hoisters have included Paul Allen, Ken Griffey Jr., and Hope Solo.

The players respect and appreciate the crowd contributions that have led to the most opponent false-start penalties in the NFL since the stadium was built...