WATCH: Is the adoption of the Seattle Seahawks by BC football fans a marketing opportunity for BC? Jill Bennett reports.
A wave of Seahawks pride is sweeping B.C.
As Seattle prepares to take on the New England Patriots in Arizona on Sunday, a B.C. based army of 12s is ready to cheer on their team.
The iconic 12th man flag will be raised in at least three B.C. communities in time for the big game.
On Vancouver Island, the city of Victoria raised the 12 flag on Thursday at the very symbolic noon hour. The flag is now flying high on a flag pole in the Inner Harbour, right across from the BC Legislature.
The city of Vancouver raised the flag at 10:12 a.m. Friday morning on the north side of City Hall.
City councillor Kerry Jang even took off his BC Lions jersey and donned a Seahawks one in support of our neighbours to the south.
“When the BC Lions were here vying for the Grey Cup, there were many Americans and our friends from Seattle coming here to support us,” says Jang. “When the Vancouver Canucks were playing in the Stanley Cup finals, we had a lot of people from Seattle coming up to support our team. So the least we can do is be part of the 12th man advantage for Seattle.”
In Surrey, the flag raising ceremony will be held Friday at 12:12 at the BC Lions head office, and is expected to be attended by city mayor Linda Hepner and special guests from the BC Lions. The ceremony is part of “Blue Friday” celebrations that will be held all across the Pacific Northwest tomorrow.
A few locations around Metro Vancouver are already getting ready for the Super Bowl weekend festivities to begin.
A Tim Hortons in Surrey and Doolin’s Irish Pub in downtown Vancouver are decked out in blue and green colours in preparation for the big game.
BC Ferries confirmed to Global News eight of their vessels are expected to carry 12th man flags by this weekend.
And if that is not enough, there is a petition to put “Go Hawks” on Vancouver buses on Super Bowl Sunday.
The petition has received 49 signatures at the time of publishing, but Translink has told Global News it does not promote or endorse any entity or program.
Should Seattle win this Sunday, there is a small chance the celebrations might spill across the border.
Vancouver Ticket Service manager Kingsley Bailey says, B.C. fans who can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars on Super Bowl tickets might be in for a little treat.
If Seattle wins on Sunday, I have heard that they might have a little mini-parade here, says Bailey. I talked to someone in the organization last year, and they said, we don’t have any time to plan, but if it happens, they just might do something here, which would be great for the city.
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