Seattle’s 12th Man Won’t Exist When Minnesota Vikings Play Sunday

With COVID-19 playing a role in crowd participation in games the Minnesota Vikings won't have to battle the noise during the game.

The Peninsula Daily News says on a normal Sunday, people get there hours before the game to get a prime parking spot to party with their fellow fans. Get ready before a game and participate in all the festivities. The other thing they are there for is to create noise and confusion for the visiting team.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Seattle will not be able to have fans in the seats vs. Minnesota. Instead controlled background noise will be piped in.

The crowd is so loud the Seattle Seahawks have said they are like having a 12th man on the field. The PDN says Coach Mike Holmgren started the 12th man by dedicating a ball to them. Then the team retired the jersey number 12. Visiting teams say they have to practice with loud PA systems just to get ready for the game. This Sunday, this will not be a problem.

The Minnesota Vikings just came off of a win and are hoping to get a second. The Seattle Seahawks are unbeaten and it doesn't look like they are going to fall anytime soon. With the 12th man out of the equation, the Vikings think if they apply pressure to Russell Wilson and there isn't any noise they might be able to build on last week and give the Seahawks their first loss.

PDN says Seattle still continues honoring the 12th man and still raise the "12" flag before games, but it's not the same without the crowd there.