The 12th Man

     This spring, the Riverton High girl’s lacrosse team played Park City for the state title in Park City and lost. As I talked with some of the Riverton girls about the loss, I asked them out of casual curiosity why the game was played on the other team's home field in Park City. I wondered whether it was based on the season record or some other criteria. I noticed almost immediately that it was a sore topic. The rumor among them was that the Park City girls’ parents paid a bunch of money to the Lacrosse association to have the finals on their home field. While this rumor may or may not be the truth, it does illustrate how important the home field can be to athletes.

The desire a fan has to influence 
his team’s performance might be explained by the finding that many fans feel their identity is tied to “their team.” For some fans, this connection is deeply rooted. A fan may even feel increased or decreased self worth based on the outcome of the game. Some fans are not content just to watch and cheer for their teams, but they pride themselves in truly being able to impact the outcome of the game. University of Utah football fans often pride themselves on being so loud they can throw off snap counts and cause other problems for visiting teams. This kind of effect is probably part of the reason so many athletes believe in the power of playing for their home crowd.

     Likely one of the most notorious home crowds in all of professional sports belongs to the Seattle Seahawks. The fans at CenturyLink Field in Seattle have such a reputation for their die-hard support that the Seahawks homepage even has a section of their website devoted to “the 12th Man.” Even during terrible seasons over the last decade or so the Seahawks have had a better-than-expected home record. Their record at home has been downright incredible in the last couple of years. Much of the credit for their incredible home record is usually attributed to the power of the 12^th man.

     Seattle’s 12^th man is so notorious it has repeatedly been included in news stories and sports coverage. Just last December, the fans at CenturyLink field were so boisterous that they registered a magnitude 1-2 earthquake on seismic equipment in the area. Stories ran last fall about the Seahawks not selling playoff tickets to San Francisco residents for their rivalry game in Seattle because they wanted the stadium packed with Seattle fans. Many Hawks fans even claimed that a Dr. Dre commercial featuring Colin Kaepernick was directed towards them in reference to their ability to get in an opponents’ head.

     In cases like the fans at CenturyLink field and other hostile fan environments, it seems that fans don’t only feel their identity is tied to the team, but they have developed a spot for themselves “on the team.” It is no longer about watching the team perform, but being a part of the performance. These are the home crowds athletes love to play for.