‘Biggest event in the world’: Seahawks fans soak in Super Bowl festivities ahead of big game

SAN FRANCISCO – Chris and Jacquie Vargas are a rare breed: a married couple born and raised in the Bay Area who shook off inherent San Francisco 49ers influence from family and became die-hard Seattle Seahawks fans.

It was the energy and intensity of the Seahawks faithful, commonly referred to as the 12s or 12th man, that persuaded them to pledge their allegiance to the Pacific Northwest team in California enemy territory.

“I basically fell in love with the fans,” Jacquie Vargas said. “Honestly, the fans of the Seahawks are the best fans out there. Better than any other team.”

The couple sported navy blue Marshawn Lynch jerseys Wednesday afternoon outside Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco.

The center is the heart of the “Super Bowl Experience” leading up to the big dance between the Seahawks and New England Patriots, a rematch of Super Bowl 49 when the Patriots ripped the hearts from Seahawks fans with a game-ending interception at the goal line.

Many Seahawks fans believed Russell Wilson, the Seattle quarterback at the time, should have handed the ball off to Lynch, the powerful running back known as “Beastmode,” who the Vargas couple supported with their attire Wednesday.

Inside and outside Moscone Center, fans this week can enjoy Super Bowl festivities, like kicking extra points, posing with the Super Bowl trophy and meeting NFL players. On Wednesday, 49ers jerseys seemed to be the most popular worn by fans, but Seahawks and Patriots fans were also out in full force, followed by a smattering of other teams’ gear.

Lane LeBas, 12, and his sister, Kay, 8, affixed their heads on a headless mannequin wearing a Seahawks uniform inside the convention center.

Their parents, Scott and Nicole LeBas, grew up in Washington, but now the family resides in the Bay Area.

“We love the Seahawks and we figured we’d come check out the Super Bowl experience,” Scott LeBas said.

Nicole LeBas grew up in the Tri-Cities and her husband in Western Washington. They both attended Washington State University.

Besides their parents’ Washington influence, Nicole LeBas said Lane’s Seahawks fandom came from being born in the Emerald City.

He wore a Seahawks Kam Chancellor jersey while his sister wore a Seattle DK Metcalf jersey. Nicole LeBas said her son has been wearing his jersey at school the past couple weeks.

“I get pestered in school about it,” said Lane, who looked forward to meeting NFL players at Moscone Center.

Scott LeBas said they don’t plan to go to the Super Bowl, but they still might if the right tickets for the right price pop up.

He said he was more nervous to play the Los Angeles Rams, which Seattle beat in the conference championship game almost two weeks ago, than the Patriots.

“We look like a team that can win it, so I’m pretty excited,” he said.

The Vargas couple, of San Jose, didn’t have plans at the Moscone Center and were simply strolling about.

Chris Vargas said the couple wanted to get “a little taste” of the Super Bowl. They’ll be watching it from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

“I don’t know when the next time it’s gonna be where our hometown is able to host a Super Bowl, let alone our hometown with our team,” he said. “That’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

Chris Vargas said he couldn’t stand the 49ers or Las Vegas Raiders, who were based in Oakland, when he was growing up.

“When I started liking football in high school, I was going to stick to a West Coast team, so it was either the Chargers or the Seahawks,” he said.

But he fell in love with the Seahawks players, fans, stadium and culture.

“There was no way that I was gonna pick any other team,” he said. “When I started watching football, I saw what it was about, what the team was about. It stuck.”

The couple went to a home Seahawks game about a decade ago and saw the team beat the 49ers.

“The energy’s so different,” he said of the Seahawks fans at Lumen Field.

He said Sundays get “intense” and “loud” at family gatherings when his Seahawks take on the 49ers. He highlighted the Seahawks’ wins against the 49ers in the regular-season finale to gain the top seed in the conference, and then two weeks later in the playoffs.

“It’s the best because now we get all the bragging rights and we deserved it,” he said. “We earned it.”

Beating the division-rival Rams in the conference championship game was the cherry on top.

“And now we get to win the Super Bowl at the Niners’ stadium, you can’t paint it any better. It’s the best,” he said.

Seahawks fans Tom and Sienna Strong also soaked in the Super Bowl festivities at Moscone Center, but the pinnacle of their weekend is sure to be Sunday when they watch from inside Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

He said they couldn’t pass up the chance to go.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “Not everybody gets to go do this. … This is the biggest event in the world.”

Tom Strong has been a Seahawks season-ticket holder the past 21 years. He grew up in Gig Harbor, Washington, and worked for PotlatchDeltic Corp., which is headquartered in Spokane, before he and his family relocated to Arkansas.

He reveled in the fact his team gets the chance to win the Super Bowl in the 49ers stadium, something San Francisco had a chance to do before Seattle beat them twice in two weeks. He attended both Seahawks playoff games – against the 49ers and the Rams – last month.

“It’s nice to play in their stadium with our banners on their walls, and our name in their end zone is pretty sweet, too,” he said.

He wore a green 1980s Seahawks jacket and a blue throwback hat Wednesday, while his wife sported a light blue Seahawks T-shirt with a couple streaks of blue and green in her hair. Sienna Strong said they’re carrying a Seahawks Jerry Rice jersey in case they run into one of the best receivers of all time who played a brief stint in Seattle after an illustrious 49ers career.

Tom Strong said he wanted to enjoy the fan fest and meet NFL players.

“Just come down here and mingle with all the fans and take in the Super Bowl,” he said.

He hopes his Seahawks can exact revenge against the Patriots from the Super Bowl just over a decade ago.

“I think that they have everything they need to go do it,” he said. “Just looking forward to watching that trophy come back to Seattle is what I’m really looking forward to.”