Who is the face of the franchise right now?

[JSeahawks]

What has Wilson done? He's a good player who is presumably on his way to being great but he didn't purchase the team, build the stadium, fill the seats (although he does contribute), draft anybody, coach up a winning culture from scratch (although he does contribute), etc. He might be or soon become the face of the players in the franchise but the entire franchise? No way. If that spot is reserved for a single person, it's Paul Allen. If we're talking about someone or something broader to represent the franchise that doesn't exclude the contributions made by the coaches, FO members, players, fans, our stadium's engineers and constructors, and so on, then we're talking about a symbol. The symbol which best represents the franchise is the number 12. Wilson is just a good, probably great player. The 12th man is a cultural legacy!

The only people that give a shit about the 12th man are Seahawk fans. Hell, i'm a Seahawk fan adn i'd be embarrased if the 12th man was the face of our franchise... that would mean we had a whole bunch of useless, unrecognizable players. Half of the east coast probably wouldnt recognize who Paul Allen is if shown a picture. Every serious NFL fan in America would recognize Russell Wilson. He is without a doubt the face of the franchise, and I dont think its even possible to make an argument for anybody else.

 

[JSeahawks]

Face of the Niners is definitely either Harbaugh or Patrick Willis IMO.

What if the question for Seattle was RW vs. Lynch vs. LOB (unfair, I know)? Much harder.

For the niners its definatly Harbaugh in my opinion. You could show me a picture of Patrick Willis and I would have no clue who it is. (unless he's wearing his uniform).

 

[bellingerga]

I think most people associate us with RW3 at this point. This isn't something we get to decide, it just is what it is.

That's pretty much the way it seems to me too man.

Marshawn would be if I were chosing, because he's given us everything we've got, but "face of the franchise" is more to do with widespread fan perception. Currently that has to be Russell Wilson, with second place going to Richard Sherman.

 

[JSeahawks]

Heres how I see the faces of the franchise all around the league. Just based on the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about each team (half of the teams are so irrelevant I think the face of the franchise is guys who arent even with the franchise anymore):

Miami: Nobody.l
Buffalo: Nobody.
New England: Tom Brady
Jets: Rex Ryan
Ravens: Ray Lewis
Bengals: Ocho Cinco
Cleveland: Nobody
Pittsburgh: Ben Roethlessberger
Houston: Arian Foster
Colts: Peyton Manning
Jaguars: Maurice Jones Drew
Tennessee: Jeff Fisher
Denver: John Elway
Kansas City: Nobody
Oakland: Al Davis
San Diego: Phillip Rivers
Dallas: Tony Romo or Jerry Jones
Washington: RG3
Philly: Andy Reid
NY Giants: Eli Manning
Green Bay: Aaron Rodgers
Minnesota: Adrian Peterson
Chicago: Brian Urlacher
Detroit: Ndomokong Suh
Tampa: Nobody
Atlanta: Tony Gonzales
Carolina: Cam Newton
New Orleans: Drew Brees
San Francisco: Jim Harbaugh
Arizona: Kurt Warner
St. Louis: Steven Jackson
Seattle: Russell Wilson.

 

[Spokane]

Who does every opposing team whine about when they have to face the hawks? Who has an impact on every home game?

The 12th man is the face. Wilson is 2nd, Paul is 3rd

 

[BirdsCommaAngry]

The only people that give a **** about the 12th man are Seahawk fans. Hell, i'm a Seahawk fan adn i'd be embarrased if the 12th man was the face of our franchise... that would mean we had a whole bunch of useless, unrecognizable players. Half of the east coast probably wouldnt recognize who Paul Allen is if shown a picture. Every serious NFL fan in America would recognize Russell Wilson. He is without a doubt the face of the franchise, and I dont think its even possible to make an argument for anybody else.

Why would we determine the face of our franchise based on perceived popularity from people not even associated with the franchise? We don't let European countries determine our president through their popular opinion. Why would we do the same concept when it comes to the face of the franchise? That half of the east coast would be the ignorant and biased half (at least when it comes to the Seahawks). If I said, "RW is the face of our franchise because a whole lot of people who are ~3,000 miles away and don't really know a whole lot about us wouldn't recognize Paul Allen," then you'd tell me that's silly, but that's the connection you're making. What the east coast, the mainstream media, or "serious" fans presume about the finer aspects of Seahawk culture doesn't matter. It never has, and it never will.

If our franchise is a landscape, then RW is a tree in a forest and the 12th man is that forest.

 

[JSeahawks]

The only people that give a **** about the 12th man are Seahawk fans. Hell, i'm a Seahawk fan adn i'd be embarrased if the 12th man was the face of our franchise... that would mean we had a whole bunch of useless, unrecognizable players. Half of the east coast probably wouldnt recognize who Paul Allen is if shown a picture. Every serious NFL fan in America would recognize Russell Wilson. He is without a doubt the face of the franchise, and I dont think its even possible to make an argument for anybody else.

Why would we determine the face of our franchise based on perceived popularity from people not even associated with the franchise? We don't let European countries determine our president through their popular opinion. Why would we do the same concept when it comes to the face of the franchise? That half of the east coast would be the ignorant and biased half (at least when it comes to the Seahawks). If I said, "RW is the face of our franchise because a whole lot of people who are ~3,000 miles away and don't really know a whole lot about us wouldn't recognize Paul Allen," then you'd tell me that's silly, but that's the connection you're making. What the east coast, the mainstream media, or "serious" fans presume about the finer aspects of Seahawk culture doesn't matter. It never has, and it never will.

If our franchise is a landscape, then RW is a tree in a forest and the 12th man is that forest.

I dont think you know what face of the franchise means.... You seem to be talking about the heart and soul of our franchise. Or the essence of our franchise. Thats something completely different then the face of our franchise.

We dont get to decide who it is. It just happens. It's the person most oftenly associated with that franchise by others. It has nothing to do with us or what we want, or how we want our team represented.

 

[BirdsCommaAngry]

What I've been attempting to say is the heart, soul, essence, etc of our franchise should be the face of the franchise and not a single person. The number 12 represents that collection of ideas better than anything. It's got everything to do with us! The "Legion of Boom" name didn't just happen or spread because it was something associated with us. LoB was an idea originating from our fan-base that caught on, made it into our local media, and then got covered in MNF and SNF where it has spread and grown via youtube and word of mouth to be known by all the people it is known by today. The "face" gets chosen in a similar fashion so why not choose our "face" to be what represents the best football fans and football culture in the sport? Why not give some love to Paul Allen and John Schneider who are fans and 12th men too come game-day? Every team has or has had good/great QBs. Only one team has our fans!

 

[JSeahawks]

The whole point though is that we dont get to choose what the face of our franchise is. It just is.

Even if we did get to choose it though the 12th man would be about 478,948th on my list, behind every player thats ever put on a Seahawks uniform or every coach that has ever walked the sidelines.

Personally, i think the 12th man is way overrated. We're just Seahawk fans. There's nothing special about us. We dont love our team any more than any other fan base loves their team. If it were up to me they would unretire the #12 and let players wear it. Its all hokie, imo. but thats another discussion for another time, thats gotten me a lot of flack in the past.

 

[Throwdown]

Heres how I see the faces of the franchise all around the league. Just based on the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about each team (half of the teams are so irrelevant I think the face of the franchise is guys who arent even with the franchise anymore):

Miami: Nobody.l
Buffalo: Nobody.
New England: Tom Brady
Jets: Rex Ryan
Ravens: Ray Lewis
Bengals: Ocho Cinco
Cleveland: Nobody
Pittsburgh: Ben Roethlessberger
Houston: Arian Foster
Colts: Peyton Manning
Jaguars: Maurice Jones Drew
Tennessee: Jeff Fisher
Denver: John Elway
Kansas City: Nobody
Oakland: Al Davis
San Diego: Phillip Rivers
Dallas: Tony Romo or Jerry Jones
Washington: RG3
Philly: Andy Reid
NY Giants: Eli Manning
Green Bay: Aaron Rodgers
Minnesota: Adrian Peterson
Chicago: Brian Urlacher
Detroit: Ndomokong Suh
Tampa: Nobody
Atlanta: Tony Gonzales
Carolina: Cam Newton
New Orleans: Drew Brees
San Francisco: Jim Harbaugh
Arizona: Kurt Warner
St. Louis: Steven Jackson
Seattle: Russell Wilson.

I think for me Arizona would be Fitzgerald, Houston would be Andre Johnson, Kansas City would be Tony Gonzales though, in my mind I always think of him as a Chief, and Atlanta would be Matt Ryan.

Just me though

 

[razgriz737]

We dont love our team any more than any other fan base loves their team.

I don't think anyone is saying that. "The 12th man" is just an affectionate nickname for our fan base, not a statement about our superiority over other fan bases. It's no different saying calling Green Bay fans "Cheeseheads" or calling the Oakland fan base "Raider Nation", in my opinion. Almost every fan base has an identity.

I thought we were just talking about which current players are the face of the franchise, but if we're talking about anything that represents the Seahawks, the 12th man is inarguably up there. It's practically the first thing they mention during every prime time game.

 

[kearly]

I totally agree with you J on almost everything you've said in here, especially the part about never ever nominating the 12thman and how the answer is obviously RW.

That said, I honestly think mystique of the12thman in one of the NFL's coolest stadiums is the most badass thing about being a Seahawks fan. I think about how amazing that Saints playoff game was, and then think about how much less impressive it might have been in a different venue. The effect/atmosphere created by the 12th man is great for enhancing epic games and epic moments.

 

[PlinytheCenter]

I wish it was Paul McQuistan . . . . alas.

Russ is the face for the TV, Paul is the face for the radio.

 

[Steve2222]

The face of the franchise is Russel Wilson. The most important player to the seahawks could be a discussion between lynch/thomas/wilson/sherman.Why would lynch show up to workouts in spring? He only has so many carries left, he needs to be resting his body.

You dont abuse your body in offseason workouts like they're doing. They're unpadded. You don't lose miles on your legs by simply running and lifting weights.

 

[Steve2222]

I totally agree with you J on almost everything you've said in here, especially the part about never ever nominating the 12thman and how the answer is obviously RW.

That said, I honestly think mystique of the12thman in one of the NFL's coolest stadiums is the most badass thing about being a Seahawks fan. I think about how amazing that Saints playoff game was, and then think about how much less impressive it might have been in a different venue. The effect/atmosphere created by the 12th man is great for enhancing epic games and epic moments.

It really is. I've been to three venues: Clink, Bank of America, and the Georgia Dome. Bank of America wasn't much of anything even though its a cool looking stadium and a cool part of Charlotte (Charlottes a nice city anyways though) and the Georgia Dome, though really loud, didn't have much electricity to it (and that was the Divisional Round of the NFC playoffs).

It really says something about our stadium when preseason games feel like regular season games. I'd venture to say that our first preseason game at home is going to have a crazy atmosphere to it.

 

[The Radish]

This morning Brock said that Marshawn is still the face of the franchise, so it's kinda funny to see what the majority actually thinks.

Wait,,,so now what Brock says is the answer?

Who cares what he thinks, he's merely another dipstick talking head.


:141847_bnono:

 

[The Radish]

What I've been attempting to say is the heart, soul, essence, etc of our franchise should be the face of the franchise and not a single person. The number 12 represents that collection of ideas better than anything. It's got everything to do with us! The "Legion of Boom" name didn't just happen or spread because it was something associated with us. LoB was an idea originating from our fan-base that caught on, made it into our local media, and then got covered in MNF and SNF where it has spread and grown via youtube and word of mouth to be known by all the people it is known by today. The "face" gets chosen in a similar fashion so why not choose our "face" to be what represents the best football fans and football culture in the sport? Why not give some love to Paul Allen and John Schneider who are fans and 12th men too come game-day? Every team has or has had good/great QBs. Only one team has our fans!

Ok, ok, ok, ok, we get it. In your opinion its the 12th man.

In others opinion its someone else. All we have here are opinions, and they are all worth the same exact thing....little.

If you want us to listen to you state your opinion over and over and over and over, then you have to listen to everyone elses and not find fault.

:141847_bnono:

 

[HawkFan72]

Sherman is definitely in the running.

But it's either Wilson or Sherman.

We have barely seen anything from Lynch since the end of the season, while Wilson and Sherman have been everywhere.

That tells you all you need to know.

 

[hawkfannj]

How bout our coach and gm . Just saying

 

[JSeahawks]

I totally agree with you J on almost everything you've said in here, especially the part about never ever nominating the 12thman and how the answer is obviously RW.

That said, I honestly think mystique of the12thman in one of the NFL's coolest stadiums is the most badass thing about being a Seahawks fan. I think about how amazing that Saints playoff game was, and then think about how much less impressive it might have been in a different venue. The effect/atmosphere created by the 12th man is great for enhancing epic games and epic moments.

Yea, I dont really disagree with you. The 12th man IS great. For whatever reason its just a pet peave of mine that we come across as we're far superior to anybody else when in reality there are other great fan bases as well. Kansas City, Denver, New Orleans, Minnesota, Green Bay.... they're all pretty damn good and passionate and could give us a run for our money. It also bugs me that a lot of memebers a lot of the time seem to give the crowd credit for the seahawks being so good at home, which in my opinion takes the credit away from the team. I definatly dont expect anyone to agree with me on this one, like i said, just a stupid pet peave.