Thousands of 12s send off Seahawks to Super Bowl



KING COUNTY -- Thousands of fans lined streets in SeaTac and Renton as the Seattle Seahawks departed for Arizona and their second straight Super Bowl trip.

Fans started showing up along S. 188th Street in SeaTac and outside the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton early on Sunday morning. They were hoping to get a prime spot to see the buses carrying the players, coaches and staff to SeaTac Airport, where they would depart for Phoenix and the Super Bowl. Many brought signs, banners and were dressed up in their Seahawks best.

People also lined up on overpasses above I-405, hoping to see the buses as they passed underneath them.

While the Seahawks were originally scheduled to leave the VMAC at 9 am, they were delayed in their departure. The team finally left their Renton headquarters at around 9:40 am, and left to a huge cheer from the gathered 12s outside the complex.

The team was escorted from Renton to SeaTac, and the fans on the overpasses were able to cheer them on. But by time they left I-5 and got onto S. 188th Street, that’s when the 12s were out in force.

Thousands of fans lined 188th from 46th Avenue S. all the way west to 28th Avenue S., standing 10-to-20 deep in some spots. Once the buses started slowly working their way west on 188th, the noise from Seahawk fans got louder. Players tweeted that they could hear the fans and were amazed by the turnout by the 12s.

Employees of Delta Airlines and their families were also waiting inside the terminal at SeaTac Airport for the team, and a big cheer was let out as the team arrived. Richard Sherman gave some high-fives after he left his bus, and Michael Bennett once again got on a bike and rode around for a short moment before getting on the plane.

Just after 11:30 am, the Seahawks’ plane started taxing to the runway, and shortly afterward took off, on its way to Phoenix and the Super Bowl.