Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks

When Seattle joined the NFL in 1976, the city wanted a name and a badge that told its story. Out of more than 20,000 entries in a public naming contest, one soared above the rest: the Seahawks. Another name for the osprey, a fish-hunting bird found along Seattle’s coasts and rivers, it captured the speed, strength, and maritime spirit of the Pacific Northwest.

The badge brought the idea to life. The original logo was inspired by Coast Salish art, the bold lines and sweeping forms echoing the masks and totems of the region’s first peoples. It wasn’t just a hawk’s head — it was a direct link to the land and its history. Updated in 2002 and again in 2012, the design has always kept that same fierce profile, framed by colours that mirror Seattle itself: deep blue for Puget Sound, bright green for the forests, and grey for the misty skies that hang over the city.

Seattle’s story, though, begins long before football. The area has been home to Coast Salish tribes for thousands of years, living off salmon runs, cedar forests, and the waterways that defined the region. European settlers arrived in the mid-19th century, and by 1851 the first permanent town had been established on Alki Point before moving across Elliott Bay to become the heart of Seattle. The young city grew on timber and shipping, its sawmills feeding the world. Later came coal, gold-rush outfitting, shipbuilding, and then the rise of aviation, with Boeing turning Seattle into a centre of flight.

By the late 20th century, Seattle had shifted again. It became a hub for technology and global brands. Microsoft and Amazon set up headquarters nearby, launching the software revolution. Starbucks began from a small Pike Place Market store and grew into a coffee empire known worldwide. Seattle became shorthand for innovation, culture, and a certain Pacific Northwest cool.

The Seahawks mirror this same arc — deeply local, but always global. And nothing represents that more than their fans. The “12th Man” tradition turned supporters into part of the team itself. Lumen Field shakes with noise so loud it’s broken Guinness World Records. Opponents regularly collapse under the roar, committing false starts as the crowd takes over the game. The franchise even retired the number 12 jersey in honour of the fans, making the 12s as much a part of the Seahawks as the players themselves.

I once stayed with a friend’s relative in Seattle and I remember this elderly gentleman telling with great confidence that the NFL would never allow a North-West coast team to win the NFL – the market was too small to make it profitable – his cynicism was convincing…

But then came the Legion of Boom. In the early 2010s, the Seahawks forged one of the greatest defences in NFL history. Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, and their hard-hitting teammates terrorised quarterbacks and receivers alike. The peak came in Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, when Seattle dismantled the Denver Broncos 43–8 — a game where defence, speed, and ferocity defined the franchise on the biggest stage. That night, the osprey truly took flight, and Seattle finally had its first Lombardi Trophy.

Together, the name, the badge, the history, and the culture give the Seahawks one of the most distinctive identities in the NFL. The osprey of the Pacific Northwest, drawn through Salish art, powered by a city built on timber, ships, planes, and code, and lifted by fans who turn sound into a weapon.

Seattle is a city that looks west across the ocean, north to the mountains, and forward to whatever comes next.