Home advantage, positives to build on and more

Sharry from Bremerton, @wenfot and others asked about the home field advantage with the Seahawks losing a third straight game at home, and with, as several people noted, a healthy number of opponents in the building.

A: There were certainly a large number of Bills fans at Lumen Field on Sunday. And while no team wants opponents to be loud in their building, I’d argue that a lot has changed in the NFL since the early days of Lumen Field, or even the beginning of the Legion of Boom era. Tickets are much easier for any fan to purchase online, and they can purchase them on the resale market without the original seller knowing their loyalty. The fact that Lumen Field has a reputation as one of the league’s best stadiums, and that Seattle is a desirable city to visit, only increases the number of opponents who want to attend games here.

Plus, there are significantly more flights and more people traveling every year (minus 2020), so it’s easier than ever for opponents to plan trips to see their team, and across the league it’s common for opponents to show up. big numbers. Just last weekend: “Sea-Hawks!” chants could be heard at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the Seahawks rolled to a victory over a first-place team.

And I know some people get mad at season ticket holders for selling their tickets, but I’m certainly not going to blame a fan if he can’t attend a game or two and decides to sell some of his tickets. and again, there’s no way to know who’s buying tickets on the resale market or who they’re cheering for.

I would also add that despite having some opponents in the building, Lumen Field is still a GREAT gameday environment full of 12’s, easily one of the best and loudest in the NFL.

Ultimately, the best solution to this problem is to be so good and in demand in your own market that it becomes harder for visiting fans to get tickets. No team will ever shut out every opponent fan, but winning at home more often would certainly help.

“We have to win,” Macdonald said. “We have to win, period, so that when we consistently go against each other and do what we have to do, the opposing fans don’t want to show up. Our fans are doing a great job and they’re sticking with it. I know we’re fighting and they’re fighting with us and we need to do a better job putting out a product that they want to advocate really hard for.”