We see this alot but the reality is the 12th man saying has been used by many organizations over the years it wasn't until Texas seen they could both profit from it as well as get recognition that they decided to even trademark the saying.

The Seahawks retired the number 12 in 1984 to honor fans who made the old Kingdome one of the noisiest stadiums in football. An official registration of the mark was filed by Texas A&M (U.S. Reg. No. 1948306) in December 1989 and it wasn't until super bowl XL in 2005 that hosted the Seahawks and Steelers that Texas decided to file a lawsuit.

The tradition of the Twelfth Man was born on the second of January 1922, when an underdog Aggie team was playing Centre College, then the nation's top ranked team. As the hard fought game wore on, and the Aggies dug deeply into their limited reserves, Coach Dana X. Bible remembered a squad man who was not in uniform. He had been up in the press box helping reporters identify players. His name was E. King Gill, and was a former football player who was only playing basketball. Gill was called from the stands, suited up, and stood ready throughout the rest of the game, which A&M finally won 22-14. When the game ended, E. King Gill was the only man left standing on the sidelines for the Aggies. Gill later said, "I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me."

This gesture was more than enough for the Aggie Team. Although Gill did not play in the game, he had accepted the call to help his team. He came to be thought of as the Twelfth Man because he stood ready for duty in the event that the eleven men on the gridiron needed assistance. That spirit of readiness for service, desire to support, and enthusiasm helped kindle a flame of devotion among the entire student body; a spirit that has grown vigorously throughout the years. The entire student body at A&M is the Twelfth Man, and they stand during the entire game to show their support. The 12th Man is always in the stands waiting to be called upon if they are needed ... read more: Aggie Traditions - Twelfth Man

A nickname you have earned through tradition is one that makes a statement. It's an honor bestowed my opponents.



Seattle paying a licensing fee ($100,000 +7,500/year) to A&M for pseudo street-cred is pretty pathetic.

Seems kinda cheap.... Maybe they should renegotiate.

Ask a few people who the 12th man is. You know the answer you will get.

WOW, that is some kind of reach there. I understand you want to hate the Seahawks and probably their fan base but your coming across in your point more like a jealous girlfriend ... The reality is hardly anyone could have told you who invented the phrase but even now and even with the benefit of the lawsuit, trademark and compensation pretty much everyone recognizes the 12th man as the Seattle Seahawks fan base. Like it or not you know it's true just like you probably didn't know it was Texas that started the phrase to begin with.

Yes scott I'm aware of the wiki search feature just like you obviously are. then why do you use it erroneously?

Who said the Seahawks own the phrase? Pretty sure I said the exact opposite. Not sure what your point is. Again. You did. You said Seattle gets more recognition for the phrase than A & M

I spelled out A&M if you read but the truth is I don't really care enough to bother each time. Sorry if I offended you. No, you didn't, which just shows that you really don't know what their tradition and culture is

Ask a few people who the 12th man is. You know the answer you will get.
NO ONE outside of your little corner of the country associates 12th man with anything other than Texas A & M.
and since you like internet searches, type in '12th man' in google or bing. You'll get the obligatory ad for a seahawks jersey, but the first three hits will be A&M, A&M, and then your wiki article. Seahawks 4th