Bringing the Noise and Making it Official

There is little dispute as to the which team has the loudest fan base in the league.  Players, coaches, opponents and broadcasters are always quick to comment on their experiences with volume at the CLink. Having caused a league high 121 opposing false starts since 2005 makes a bold statement but, to date, there hasn't been an official crowning of the 12's as the loudest.

Not yet, anyway.

Former Seahawk Joe Tafoya, who's JumpIt Media was responsible for the outstanding turnout at the Richard Sherman Charity Softball Game, is spearheading an effort to get the Seahawks, CenturyLink Field and the 12th Man into the Guinness World Book of Records as the loudest crowd cheer-- currently held by a Turkish soccer stadium.

From Guinness World Records:

The loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium was 131.76 dbA and was achieved by Galatasaray Spor Kulubu (Turkey) at the Ali Sami Yen Sport Complex Turk Telekom Arena, in Istanbul, Turkey, on 18 March 2011.
A peak reading of 131.76 dBA was recorded during the Galatasaray SC v. Fenerbahce SC derby game at the Ali Sami Yen Sport Complex Turk Telekom Arena on 18 March 2011. The record was attempted by Galatasaray SC fans. The sound level was measured from the side line of the stadium. Distance to the crowd was 2 meters. They were given 3 attempts. The first attempt was at 20:50 pm, it measured 112.08 dbA. The second attempt was at 21:03 pm and measured 130.55 dbA. The third attempt took place at 21:15 pm and produced a reading of 131,76 dbA. A notary and one witness (sound engineer) were present. The precision measuring noise level meter (certified and calibrated) was a Bruel & Kjaer 2250 RAM DT-8850. This was the first derby game which took place at the brand new home (stadium) for Galatasaray SC and its fans. 49,488 fans of Galatasaray SC and 2,500 fans of Fenerbahce SC were counted that day. The game was finally won by Fenerbahce SC, 2 - 1.

The game in which they will attempt this feat couldn't be more perfect-- the Sunday Night Football home opener against our bitter rivals. The first decibel recording will take place throughout the 49ers first offensive series.  Unlike the case of the incumbent record holder, there will be no prompting of fans to get loud.  Tafoya insists that they want it to be organic, whereas the Turkish soccer game conducted a "1, 2, 3... be loud!" kind of setup.

The Seahawks themselves are taking a standoffish approach to this event.  You see, beating the record would mean that the decibel level would have to exceed 131.76 dbA for the 12th Man to break the record. The National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders states "Long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss." It's perfectly understandable that the Seahawks organization doesn't want to invite potential lawsuits by condoning the event.

So it's up to the 12th Man to spread the word on this one.  I'm sure there will be no shortage of publicity for the event, but it has to start from somewhere.  Please go over to the Official Volume 12 Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/OfficialVolume12 ) or their website http://volume12seattle.com/ and show your support.

Just think-- if Green Bay gets revenge on the 49ers in their opener and Seattle is able to handle the Panthers on the road, this nationally televised game could lead to the Seahawks taking a two-game division head start over the Niners!