12s taking over Phoenix for Super Bowl week

It would be understandable if some people mistook Phoenix for Seattle this week, given the massive influx of Seahawks fans flooding the Valley of the Sun for Super Bowl XLIX.

“When we got off the plane, the airport is filled with nothing but Seahawks balloons, Seahawks fans, chants of Seahawks all over the place,” says Gee Scott, co-host of 710 ESPN Seattle’s The Barbershop.

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“I almost feel bad. I almost feel like once again this is the possibility of another home game for the Seattle Seahawks,” says Scott.

The 12th Man has always traveled strong to support the Seahawks, but thanks to the proximity of this year’s game, it seems like far more are making the trip.

Since the conference championships when the Seahawks and Patriots punched their tickets to the Super Bowl, Seahawks fans have dominated the secondary ticket market, according to online ticket service SeatGeek.com.

SeatGeek reports 33 percent of all sales have gone to buyers in Washington and Oregon.

Seahawks fans dominated at media day as well, where several thousand shelled out $30 each to watch the madness on the arena floor below, far outnumbering Patriots fans.

The fans made sure their voices were heard, chanting loudly the moment players entered the building.

“We know they can hear us,” Matt Grissom, a Seahawks fan living in Phoenix, told SB Nation’s Sarah Kogod. “They know we’re here to support them, and I think that will help them on Sunday.”

It’s much like last year, when Seahawks fans dominated the Super Bowl in New Jersey last year, says KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.

“It was like a home game for the Seahawks, and I think that’s the way it’s going to be here in Phoenix too.”

It’s a far cry from the Seahawks first Super Bowl when Seattle faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in Detroit in 2006.

Timeline: Seahawks’ run to the Super Bowl

Former Seahawks standout Marcus Trufant played in that game. The Barbershop co-host remembers the week and the game being dominated by Pittsburgh fans, making it feel like he was playing in the Steel City the entire week.

“I’m not saying our fans didn’t support then, but we were kind of under the radar. You know, the Pittsburgh Steelers had the Terrible Towel thing going, fans all over the place. Here in Arizona it appears to me it’s a Seahawks town,” says Trufant.

The demand for Seahawks fans has been so great, Alaska Airlines even added more flights to try and accommodate them. Tens of thousands are expected at the game, and even more at a number of 12th Man rallies and parties around the area throughout the week.

The largest is a free fan event being hosted on Saturday by the Seahawks at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It will feature members of the Seahawks, Ring of Honor and other former players, the Sea Gals, Blue Thunder, Blitz the mascot and what the team promises will be special guests, (maybe a Macklemore appearance?)

Don’t be surprised if it looks and sounds like CenturyLink Field when you tune in for the Super Bowl Sunday.