I have held off sharing this story because I thought it was kind of embarrassing and also because of all of the NDAs I had to sign…

Growing up in Seattle, I was always exposed to football. My grandfather used to always have it on when I would visit, and my mom was a high school cheerleading coach so I grew up on the sidelines.

Fast forward and I remember watching the Super Bowl every year and where I was for Super Bowl XL in 2006. The Bowl used to always be a week before my birthday (until this year-it’s ON my birthday) so I held a special connection to the NFL.

It was around 2012/2013 when the Seahawks changed their uniforms from the grayish blue Reebok to the Nike ones they wear today that I fully dove into fandom on a different level. I had just been to Vegas for the Miss America pageant (I was a hair and makeup artist, however my client did her own for the big stage but I was in the crowd cheering her on as she won Judge’s Choice). The pageant was during the NFL Playoff weekend and the Seahawks were in it. When I got home a couple months later, I had the idea to start a Seahawk themed Twitter account…

The Hawks, as you are probably aware or you wouldn’t be reading this, have a fan base that at the time was called the 12th Man. I have always been ahead of trends somehow and decided to make a Twitter account called the 12th Women. I tweeted throughout that legendary 2013 season hyping the fanbase up. I went to EVERY Seahawks themed event and posted photos and tweeted during them. I even got a job a the Seattle Team Store in Olympia which was my first taste at learning the merch and representing the team in an unofficial way.

I remember going to Training Camp and bringing a football where I was able to get a few autographs. Reminder that this was the 2013 season that I started this. I then went to Richard Sherman’s celebrity softball game at Cheney Stadium where I brought my team store work shirt and had Doug Baldwin and Earl Thomas sign it-I left it at the store, though so I don’t have it. But they ALSO signed my football that day. I got so many signatures from the team at that event to add to the ones I got at Training Camp.

That season I remember watching every single game holding that ball. So much so that the signatures were wearing off. It was my superstition to hold it during the games to give the team an extra boost-haha. Meanwhile I was still representing as the 12th Women on Twitter. When the Seahawks made the playoffs that year, I was freaking out. I had another client who had been the feature twirler for the University of Washington; she was asked, along with the then current and prior twirler to come perform at the NFC Championship game’s halftime show. She needed the 12 jerseys they were going to wear bedazzled with Swarovski rhinestones the night before. I volunteered to help them and do their makeup before the game. I didn’t get to attend, but it was an honor to have been a smidge part of that game.

After they won, the team held tons of events. The EMP Museum (now MoPop) had an event with a giant 12 flag they wanted 12s to sign. They were going to fly it over MetLife Stadium before the game. Of course I made sure to be there-I drove all the way up from Olympia. The Space Needle was all lit up green and blue and the 12 flag was flying strong above it when I was signing that other special flag for the Super Bowl. I remember signing right by the number where I added my two @’s-my personal name and 12thWomen along with my signature.

12s send the Seahawks off to the Super Bowl at Seatac Airport

I remember the entire state came out to send them off to the Super Bowl at the airport-the image might be from 2014 for XLIX instead of XLVIII. There were planes flying above us with flags attached, potentially the one we had signed. At the time, I was running a before and after school program for elementary school kids. The school was very into the Seahawks also so I decided to have a Super Bowl party the Friday before the big game. Skittles were a big thing because of Marshawn and they had come out with these special Seattle packs with only blue and green. I went everywhere to find them but couldn’t, so I bought a ton of rainbow packs and picked out all the blue and green ones for the party. The kids loved it.

We won. It was crazy. The parade was on my wedding anniversary, three days before my birthday (RIP to the anniversary as I am going through divorce now). I was able to go to my morning shift with the kids, hit the parade, and then make it back before the second shift. The parade was electric. Crowds were EVERYWHERE in their gear-on top of street poles, in the parking garages looking out. The team rode the Ducks. See picture. They went from the Space Needle to the stadium-the stadium was FULL and so were the streets. I parked by Pike Place Market and watched from near the Cinerama.

I had so much content for the 12th Women account-this was before influencing. Way before. Obviously, the next year was exactly the same, however we didn’t run the ball. Eventually the team phased out the 12th Man and rebranded us to the 12s to be more inclusive (as they should) so the 12th Women were no longer as relevant and I kinda fizzled from my content.

I got a job at Nordstrom and every Blue Friday I dressed up in some sort of Seahawks themed fashion. I remember the team liking my posts and sometimes even retweeting me. I remember saying it was my dream to work for them someday.

During the 2014-2015 season (XLIX) they had a commercial about the Pro Shop. They had the retail team member running all over the stadium to get a specific jersey for a customer. They passed Blitz vacuuming up Skittles and various other fun things in the commercials. I remember thinking how much I wanted to do that. Then I saw a job listing…Pro Shop Associate. I applied. I got an interview. I got hired. I left Nordstrom and started my then dream role. I had to sign a billion NDAs and we weren’t just working for the Seahawks, we were working for the Sounders FC as well. We started a few months before the season and they were hosting events that they held pop up shops at. They were asked to go to 12 Tour down in Portland where they were doing an event at Cartlandia-a food truck park and a Season Ticket Holder event at a bowling alley. I don’t know how or why, but instead of riding in the merch truck, I got the opportunity to ride WITH THE TEAM on the 12 bus. I couldn’t believe it. There were 3 players on the bus, Blitz, Seahawks Dancers (at the time, Seagals), staff and security. I was SO nervous. I didn’t say a word on Twitter and basically stopped posting on 12th Women because I took those NDAs extra seriously and didn’t want to jeopardize my role with the team. We made so many stops for the players to sign autographs and then we got to go to a Rainiers game in a suite right before we went back to the VMAC. It was two nights of the best time of my life-I even had two girls ask for MY autograph-I was like I am not a Seagal but they didn’t care.

Somehow I ended up with the opportunity to work through the weekdays as a stadium merchandiser. That meant I got to design the stands and choose where the merch was displayed and be at the stadium multiple times per week. We would switch the stands between the Seahawks and the Sounders. I was also working as a salesperson the first season and secured my role on the Suites level….I met a lot of cool people that year. The Sounders won the MLS Cup.

The following year I was promoted to Supervisor-I got to supervise the Clubs and Suites levels. I also worked between games still as merchandiser of those stands. We were also doing off-site events all over the place at corporate headquarters and 12 parties, Draft Days, Training Camp and I LOVED it. I was so glad just to be a small part of the team.

I then got hired at Tesla. They required me to work Sundays so I had to leave right around the beginning of the 2018 season. I started going to a lot of games as a fan and had an equally great time because I could actually watch the games. But I severely missed being an actual part of the team. To this day I wish I had never left…

I started this website around 2016 and because I had a beauty background, that was it’s niche. This last year (2025), I noticed that my content on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, which NEVER pushed my beauty content, started to push my sports content. I adapted to the niche (which I preferred anyways) and now I am growing like crazy. I started posting multiple times a day during the beginning of the Seahawks season but also fell back in love with the Mariners and watched the Sounders take the League’s Cup trophy. It feels like I was starting the 12th Women thing all over again-except it’s me this time.

I have been to most of the games this season-including preseason-I only missed the Saints and the Buccaneers in person. I have been going through a divorce and these teams have helped me heal from it-I NEVER would’ve expected a playoff season of both teams and that ride has been the best. I LOVE sporting events as the energy recharges me. So that is my story. Follow me on TikTok and Instagram @courtneyeunderwood and facebook.com/courtneyunderwoodhulet for the memes.