No 12th man: Seahawks will play 'at least' first three home games without fans
The Seattle Seahawks are on any short list of best home-field advantages in the NFL.
They won’t have that advantage this season, at least early on.
The Seahawks announced on Wednesday that they will not have fans in the stadium for at least the first three home games of this season. That’s a difficult decision for any team, and Seattle made it knowing it takes away a big competitive edge.
But amid the coronavirus pandemic, it’s not like they had much choice.
‘Difficult decision’
The Seahawks said the decision to rule out fans for the first three home games was difficult.
We have made the difficult decision to play at least our first three home games without fans in attendance.
More information: https://t.co/doxu0MWjtN pic.twitter.com/3T3s4WYJ4g— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 19, 2020
The Seahawks said they were hopeful that fans would be let in at some point this season, but that will depend on how COVID-19 cases go.
First possible game with fans will be Nov. 1
The team’s first three home games are against the New England Patriots in Week 2, the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 and Minnesota Vikings in Week 5. Those are three marquee opponents. The Patriots game will be on “Sunday Night Football,” and it will be strange to watch a big Seahawks game without fans.
The team’s fourth home game is Nov. 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, the defending NFC West champions. The Seahawks hope that game is open to fans, for reasons on and off the football field.
There aren’t many fanbases more rowdy than the one in Seattle. For the first two months of this season, the “12s” will just have to make all of that noise at home.
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