Spokane fans cluster to the Indians’ field to form giant ‘12’ in support of Seahawks

As the Seattle Seahawks get ready for the Super Bowl, about 200 fans gathered at the Spokane Indians field at Avista Stadium to form a giant “12” to show support.

Clad in matching full-length, Skittle-themed ponchos, Paula Huit and Maggie Vega are a mother-daughter duo thrilled to see their favorite team reach the championship.

They created the ponchos, dotted with patches of former players’ numbers from the 2013 championship team, in a nod to Marshawn Lynch’s love for the fruity candies. They wore the gridiron garments on Friday, as Huit said, to bring that mojo.

Tosh Semlacher, the director of corporate partnerships for the Indians, said he wouldn’t classify himself as a superstitious person. But he did say that the last time the Seahawks were in the Super Bowl, in 2014, the Indians didn’t put on a “12” event. That year, as many broken-hearted the Seahawks lost by four to the New England Patriots. The year prior, when the Indians did open the snow-packed stadium for fans, the Seahawks won, 43-8, over the Denver Broncos.

Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.

Regardless, the Indians are doing everything they can so the Seahawks won’t incur another loss to the Patriots. And this time, instead of worrying about a 37-year-old Tom Brady, the Hawks defense has to contain a 23-year-old Drake Maye, who finished second in MVP voting this season behind Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.

“I’m a little scared,” said Laura Burns, a 56-year-old lifelong fan in attendance on Friday. “Every weekend is different; whether you’re on a winning streak or losing streak, you never know how it’s gonna go. I haven’t really paid much attention to the Patriots this year, but I think they might be good since they’re in the Super Bowl.”

Burns and her husband, Tim, have traveled around the world in the years leading up to their retirement from the military – from Spokane to Florida to Sacramento to Australia to Guam to Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., to San Diego, and finally back to Spokane, the couple said the Pacific Northwest is the place they enjoy the most. Laura Burns said being in Australia really made her miss watching the Seahawks. Something about rugby just doesn’t have the same appeal as American football.

Although slightly nervous for the game, the couple of 30 years maintain that the Seahawks will win 28-to-14. Laura Burns stressed she wanted a decisive win, so as not to induce any heart attacks or dangerously high blood pressure.

“I don’t want a repeat of ’15,” Tim Burns agreed.

As an EWU graduate, Laura Burns said her favorite current player on the team is wide receiver Cooper Kupp. When it comes to keys to the game, she said the Hawks must buckle down on defense and limit Maye’s contributions. For Tim Burns, he’s most worried about quarterback Sam Darnold.

“I’m hoping Darnold gets rid of the demons,” he said. “He’s got to win and dominate, or else people will always be saying something.”

Jim Grammies was another fan in attendance who commented on Darnold’s unique path . The 28-year-old quarterback has been on five teams since 2018, which means making the Super Bowl, as Grammies pointed out, is “crazy for a journeyman quarterback.”

While the quarterback struggled with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, Darnold has an opportunity to bring another championship to Seattle.

To the horror of a few fans, Grammies and his wife, Dayann, admitted that the Seahawks aren’t their favorite football team. Jim likes the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Dayann roots for the Cleveland Browns.

“We’re going to support the local team because they’re doing better than our teams,” Jim Grammies said.

Two names – former safety Kam Chancellor, a fixture for the ‘Legion of Boom’ – and current star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba .

Smith-Njigba, recently nicknamed the “Emerald City Route Artist” (to a mixed reaction from fans), was the NFL’s 2026 offensive player of the year. Vega expects him and running back Kenneth Walker III to rise above the rest during the Super Bowl. She imagines the two will provide an equilibrium between the passing and running game.

But if you ask Rick Meyer who will have a standout performance on Sunday, his answer is the Seahawks’ stout defense.

He imagines the Seahawks will push out to an early lead and ride the defense’s energy into the fourth quarter. Meyer predicts the final score will be 37-17, in favor of the Seattle.

“They were talking on the radio, and they said, ‘If Seattle and New England played 10 times, Seattle would win eight times,’” Meyer said. “So the only thing that some of the guys are afraid of is that this might be one of those two times.”

In 1996, as a freshman in high school, Meyer said his favorite player was Barry Sanders. He remembers playing football in the backyard with his brother, pretending to be Sanders while his brother was running back Emmitt Smith.

Once Sanders retired, Meyer wanted a team, not a single player, to root for. When Mike Holmgren was hired as Seattle’s coach in 1999, Meyer became a fan.

He works part time as a pizza delivery driver for Domino’s on top of his day job, and he said he’ll be spending Sunday delivering pizza. The potential for good tips, especially since he’ll be wearing a Seahawks jersey, is just too much to pass up. But between listening to Steve Raible on the radio in the car, seeing clips on the TV in the back of the pizzeria and high-fiving every fan he delivers food to, Meyer said he’s in for a good time.

“My kids and friends are like, ‘You’re a die-hard fan; you’re not gonna stay home and watch it?’ ”. “I’ve got a wife and four kids. So (the game’s) important to me, but trying to support my family’s more important.”

As Meyer spoke about the excitement sure to exude from Raible’s commentating, the Spokane Indians mascot, Otto the Spokaneasaurus, tuned in to listen. As Barney the Purple Dinosaur’s distant cousin nodded along, Meyer asked him where his Seahawks gear was. Otto pointed to his protruding stomach.

“Ahh, it’s under the suit,” Meyer said, before asking. “What’s your score prediction?”

Otto grabbed a note pad and wrote his four-letter signature. Below his name, the anthropomorphic dinosaur scribbled 33-12. Meyer wrote 37-11 under Otto’s prediction.

They’ll have to wait until Sunday to see who’s right.