Community Sports
Peninsula fans join pilgrimage to Seahawks’ Super Bowl parade
Downtown Seattle’s Fourth Avenue was lined with Seattle Seahawks fans from early hours on Wednesday, more than two dozen deep at some points. A crowd estimated to potentially reach 1 million gathered to watch a Super Bowl parade following Seattle’s second NFL title.
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Peninsula 12s were part of the crowd, packing ferries from Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, Kingston and Southworth Wednesday morning to get to Seattle. After a raucous event inside Lumen Field at 10 a.m. — when Seahawks players, coach Mike McDonald and GM John Schneider took turns addressing the crowd — a convoy of more than 20 vehicles loaded with players and families took off into the city. Fireworks shot off near Lumen Field, visible from Colman Dock, and the parade started around 11:30 a.m., a little later than the scheduled start.
Seahawks fans arrive in droves for Super Bowl celebrations
Peninsula fans lined up at dawn to travel into Seattle. Rich Esqueda was in downtown Bremerton with his family, including son 20-year-old son River. Rich Esqueda, a 23-year season ticket holder to Hawks games, had brought River to the team’s 2014 parade after the first Super Bowl title. The pair said there’s no way they would have missed the experience a second time.
“We didn’t miss it the first time, I’ll never forget,” Rich Esqueda said, standing in line for the 8:45 a.m. departure of WSF’s Chimacum ferry. “And I feel like we’re going to do it again a few times.”
Seahawks fans walk toward the parade in downtown Seattle on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Photo by Conor Wilson
Shortly after 8 a.m. — nearly three hours before the parade was scheduled to begin — a smattering of Seahawks jerseys were already visible along Seattle’s waterfront.
At Colman Dock, Vicky Miller of Port Orchard walked off a state ferry from Bremerton. Miller has been a fan of the Seahawks since 1991, but wasn’t able to make the last Super Bowl parade.
“I’m super excited,” Miller said. “It’s not as busy as I was expecting.”
More 12s began arriving from Kitsap County over the next two hours. Four boats, two from Bainbridge and another two from Bremerton were scheduled to reach Coleman Dock in Seattle between 8 and 10:30 a.m. Paintings of the Seahawks logo and “12” covered the Washington State Ferries front and rear windows.
Crowds near the dock and on the Marion Street Pedestrian Bridge, which connects the ferry terminal to First Avenue, were heavy but dispersed. Foot traffic never appeared overly high, likely due to both WSF and Kitsap Transit running extra boots in anticipation of the parade.
Enthusiasm along the entire Seahawks parade route
The parade headed north from SoDo to Seattle Center, approximately 2 miles along Fourth Avenue.
Hours before the NFL champions gathered at Lumen Field, fans had already lined Fourth Avenue, a dozen deep in some places.
Along Marion Street and Fourth Avenue, most pedestrians were packing themselves like sardines along the barrier. For the 12s who showed up later, some took more extreme measures to watch the Super Bowl champions pass by. A trio of teenage boys scaled street poles and stood atop the electronic crosswalk signs.
Nearly a dozen people sat on the awnings at the Fourth Avenue and Madison Street bus stop. One plucky individual clawed up a tree, bear-hugging the trunk, and perched on a branch roughly 20 feet above those below. Some of the Seahawks players and staff took notice, pointing and smiling at the teenagers clinging to the street poles.
Donald Shorter, a Seattle native and longtime Seahawks fan, showed up at 9 a.m. with his family to get a spot at the front.
“It’s a great memory,” Shorter said. “We want to be able to build that memory with them, that’s something they can look back on and remember.”
Human fans brought children, of course, but some dogs joined the throng as well. Kickstand the Chihuahua, among the most internet-famous 12s with nearly 400,000 followers on TikTok, accompanied his owner, Sue Schafer.
Schafer said she attended the 2014 Super Bowl parade and was excited to be back. She agreed with several people interviewed who said this version seemed better organized in comparison.
Among the lucky kids to skip school today was 10-year-old Jace Webb, who was hoping to see wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Donald Shorters’ 5-year-old daughter, however, was there to see the Seadancers, the team’s cheer squad. The dancers preceded the line of vehicles, walking the entire route to hype the crowds up before the players rolled through.
“We got there an hour before it started and it was already packed,” said Faith Duberow, a Seadancer and Gonzaga University alum. “It was so awesome to see everyone in all of their jerseys and Seahawks merch, and it just felt like such a special energy seeing the city come together that way. It was also cool to see how excited everyone was to see us, like all the little girls. That was really special.”
Those waiting at the end of the parade route near Seattle Center had to be patient. The first truck didn’t roll in until 12:45 p.m. Being at the end had its benefits though, as players like Smith-Njigba and linebacker Uchenna Nwosu had left their parade rides by that point to finish on foot, offering high-fives and signing autographs for those left along the route.
Even former Seahawk greats, like Richard Sherman and Jim Zorn (the franchise’s first quarterback) joined the parade lineup and were seen before head coach Mike Macdonald arrived on a truck beside his wife, Stephanie, pumping the Lombardi Trophy in the air.