Hubs guest post: Who is your 12th Man?

Disclaimer: lots of sports references in this post

This Sunday, I will get to watch my beloved Seattle Seahawks play in the Super Bowl. As you know, I've had only a few championship teams in my life as a sports fan. As far as football goes, you'd have to go back to the mid-90s to find any of my favorite teams winning a trophy. I care about the Seahawks more than I've cared about a football team in close to twenty years. Quarterback Russell Wilson is 3-5 inches shorter than most people in his position and was told he'd never be a starter in the NFL. Their fullback, Derrick Coleman, is legally deaf. Marshawn Lynch eats Skittles on the sidelines. And Richard Sherman is Richard Sherman. Here's another thing I love about this Seattle Seahawks: the fans. They LOVE these players. And the players love them. As you've no doubt heard if you've turned on ESPN in the last two weeks, the Seahawks' oh-so-loud fan-base is called the 12th Man. 11 guys on the football field, the loudest fans in the NFL become #12. The 12 make the Seahawks a better team. They make things difficult for opposing players. The also LITERALLY create earthquakes (youtube "beastquake" for best results).

IF Island sucks. It can be a lonely, frustrating, helpless place. And on a daily basis not even necessarily just be about getting a baby. It's about surviving this process, intact, with the support of people around you. Supported can be the hardest thing for you to feel sometimes. It's been tough to find support in our situation. We've lost friends, severed relationships, and generally had to adjust how we interact with people because they didn't know how to or simply decided not to support our situation. But we also have our 12s. I try to be my wife's loudest supporter. But she's also got a great group of her own. From Gilli, her acupuncturist, to people she's met through this blog, people have stepped up. We've got our families, who understand the process better as time goes on. We've got friends that want to talk about it, want to listen, and do their best to understand something that is our problem and not necessarily their own. These are our 12s. 

So this Sunday, when you see a handful of "12" flags in a stadium 3,000 miles from Seattle, think about who your 12 is. Are they sitting next to you on the couch watching the game (hopefully not wearing a Broncos shirt)? Are they texting you just to check in? Are they setting a time to meet with you simply to see how you're doing? Appreciate your 12s. No matter what happens during the big game, those Seahawks players will thank the 12s when its over. And if they win, I'm going to feel like I won because I've cheered and yelled at them throughout the long season. Let's get loud. Let's wave our flags. Let's make our families. Let's win. For us and for our 12s. Go Hawks.

Comments

[Heather]

Well deserved win, congrats.

[Gladys]

I will always be a 12th for you guys!!! And go Seahawks :)

[Aneonprincess.wordpress.com]

A good support network really does make a huge difference. Go Hawks!

[Heather]

I'm so conflicted about this post. I agree everyone needs supporters, and I think the idea of the 12th man is a great thing to compare our support system to......but I'm in Denver, GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!
:)

[KB]

Great post. And as a Seattleite, I must respond with GO HAWKS!