12th Man (football)

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The 12th man is a term commonly used to describe the fans within a stadium during American football or association football games. Since most football leagues allow a maximum of eleven players per team on the playing field at a time, the term denotes the attempt of a team's fans to help their team. The term has been claimed to be created by Texas A&M University in 1922. (see Origin and Texas A&M tradition below).

Due to the very nature of fans, their mere presence can have profound impacts on how the teams perform. Namely, the home team fans would like to see their team win the game. Thus these fans will often create loud sounds or chant in hopes of distracting, demoralizing and confusing the opposing team while they have possession of the ball; or to persuade a referee to make a favorable decision. Noises are made by shouting, whistling, stomping and various other techniques.

1 Origin and Texas A&M tradition
2 Use in American football
3 Texas A&M trademark issues and Seattle Seahawks lawsuit
4 Use in association football
5 Effects
6 See also
7 References
8 Sources
9 External links

[edit] Origin and Texas A&M tradition

In Dallas on January 2, 1922, at the Dixie Classic (the forerunner of the Cotton Bowl) A&M played defending national champion Centre College in the first post-season game in the southwest. In this hard fought game, which produced national publicity, an underdog Aggie team was slowly but surely defeating a team which boasted having three All-Americans. Unfortunately, the first half produced so many injuries for A&M that Coach D. X. Bible feared he wouldn’t have enough men to finish the game. At that moment, he called into the Aggie section of the stands for E. King Gill, a reserve who had left football after the regular season to play basketball. Gill, who was spotting players and was not in football uniform, willingly volunteered and donned the uniform of injured player Heine Weir. Although he did not actually play in the game, his readiness to play symbolized the willingness of all Aggies to support their team to the point of actually entering the game. A statue of E. King Gill stands to the north of Kyle Field to remind today’s Aggies of their constant obligation to preserve the spirit of the Twelfth Man. That spirit of readiness, desire, and enthusiasm has continued through the years, and to this day the Aggie student body, known as the Twelfth Man, remains standing at football games as a gesture of its loyalty and readiness for duty. But the tradition of the Twelfth Man embraces more than mere athletic events. It is the essence of the Aggie Spirit that unites all Aggies into a fellowship of service and devotion to each other and their school.

In the 1980s, Jackie Sherrill created the "12th Man Kickoff Team" composed of regular students who tried out for the team instead of players who were recruited, as is the normal practice in college football. These students were placed on the roster for the sole purpose of running the kickoffs. Currently one "walk-on" player represents the Texas A&M student body each game, and wears uniform number 12.

The 12th Man has evolved into a tradition at Texas A&M. The Texas A&M student body acts as the "12th Man" for the football team and stands throughout the entire game, ready to help the team should the need arise (now through the use of "yells" led by Yell Leaders, in an effort to pump the team up).

[edit] Use in American football

The "12th man" term has been used by various American football teams including the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos and the Chicago Bears. The Chicago Bears no longer use the term "12th man" at the request of Texas A&M. The Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks continue to use the phrase.

As a tribute to their fans, the Seahawks retired the number 12 during a game on December 15, 1984. This means no player on the team can wear the number 12 on their jersey. Since then #12 Jerseys have been sold by the team and worn by Seahawk fans, often with the name "Fan" on the back. The Seahawks also have a ceremony before each home game where a flag bearing the #12 is raised by a prominent individual.

The Broncos have an orange and blue flag hanging in the southern side of their stadium that reads "12th man". The flag has been in place since the opening of Invesco Field at Mile High. It also hung in the original Mile High Stadium.

[edit] Texas A&M trademark issues and Seattle Seahawks lawsuit

The term "12th Man" was coined and marketed to represent the Texas Aggie fans after the 1922 Dixie Classic. While intellectual property laws recognize such common law uses in trademark disputes, the official registration of the mark was not filed by Texas A&M (U.S. Reg. No. 1948306) until September of 1990, 6 years after the Seahawks began using the term. According to statements made by Texas A&M officials, they have sent requests to stop using the phrase to the Seattle Seahawks (2004, 2005), Buffalo Bills (undated), and the Chicago Bears (undated). Both the Bills and the Bears responded to the requests stating they would no longer use the phrase, however the Seahawks failed to respond to the request.

In January 2006, Texas A&M filed suit against the Seattle Seahawks to protect the trademark and in May 2006, the dispute was settled out of court. In the agreement, Texas A&M allows the Seahawks to continue using the phrase "12th Man" provided the NFL franchise acknowledges that the trademark on the slogan belongs to the school.

[edit] Use in association football

The term "twelfth man" is commonly used in association football to indicate the fans. Stockport County fans are registered as official members of their squad with the number 12. Portsmouth F.C. has also retired its number 12 shirt, and lists the club's supporters, "Pompey Fans", as player number 12 on the squad roster printed in home match programmes. Number 12 is also reserved for the fans at Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia. Dynamo Dresden in Germany also keeps number 12 for their fans, as well as the official team anthem being "We are the 12th man". Aberdeen FC supporters commonly display a large banner in the shape of a football shirt with the text "Red Army 12" in place of a player's name and number. The fans of the Northern Ireland national football team are referred to as the twelfth man as well.

[edit] Effects

The effects of the "12th man" vary widely, but can be put in two categories. The first is simply psychological, the effect of showing the home team that they are appreciated, and showing the away team that they are somewhat unwelcome. The second seems far more important, and it directly relates to the deafening effects of a loud crowd.

In American football, the "12th man" is typically only loud after plays while the home team is on offense, but loud immediately before the snap on defense. This can make it very difficult for the away team's offense to co-ordinate plays, call audibles, and hear the snap count. If the away team's players are unable to hear the snap count, they are more likely to incur false start penalties, losing their team precious yards on offense.

Sometimes, the sideline is also referred to as the "12th man" or "12th defender". Since a player is considered down when he steps out of bounds, the sideline effectively acts as an extra defender. This usage is less common than the one referring to the fans.

In Association Football (soccer), the crowd is often loud throughout the match - for example before kickoff (Liverpool fans singing You'll Never Walk Alone as the players run out); during the buildup to and scoring of a goal; when encouraging the team to come back from defeat; to discourage an opposition penalty taker; or to harass a referee giving a free kick to the oppositon team.

Delia Smith, Norwich City's joint major shareholder, received some notoriety when, seemingly under the influence of alcohol, she took to the pitch during the half time interval, with a microphone in hand and Sky TV cameras in tow, to tell fans the side "need their twelfth man." "Where are you?" she cried. In the end it had little effect and Norwich City lost the game in the dying seconds. ^[1]