From Seattle to São Paulo: Inside the Passion of Seahawks Fans Abroad
Seattle Seahawks fans cheer during the Super Bowl LX parade. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images
Following a sports team from across continents and oceans is an exercise in pure devotion. For international NFL fans, there are no local broadcasts by default, no casual watercooler chats at work, and "prime-time football" often translates to either an early wake-up call or a bedtime ending in “AM.” Yet, the global reach of the NFL is exploding, and few fanbases showcase this border-crossing passion quite like the Seattle Seahawks' international community, particularly in Brazil.
Despite the NFL assigning official marketing rights for Brazil to other franchises like the Dolphins and Eagles under its Global Markets Program, the "12s" have organically grown into one of the country's top five largest NFL fanbases. Propelled by the legendary "Legion of Boom" era and a cultural grit that mirrors Seattle's own, Brazilian 12s are redefining what it means to be a hometown fan.
To understand how this connection bridges thousands of miles, I chatted with a dedicated Seahawks fan and content creator from Brazil, who shared her journey from navigating sparse TV coverage to losing her voice during a Super Bowl run, all while balancing her love for American football against a deeply rooted local soccer culture.
She goes under the name “Lumen Loud” on X. She is also a contributor for Rapinas do Mar (@rapinasdomar), a site created in 2018 “to provide and share news and content in Portuguese—in a more accessible format—for American football fans, a community that is steadily growing in our country, and especially for the "12s" in Brazil” (translated from Portuguese into English from their website).
She was kind enough to answer questions for us at Emerald City Spectrum (ECS).
ECS: How did you become a Seahawks fan all the way in Brazil, and what was the moment that hooked you?
Lumen Loud: “I started watching the NFL in 2010 with my boyfriend at the time, who was a Niners fan. I loved the sport and everything I read about it. Even salary caps, and how the draft and schedules are planned to keep it balanced. He tried to make me a Niners fan, but I never liked them and no other team clicked. As soon as I heard about the Seahawks, it took me back to my childhood days when I used to listen to Seattle bands with my dad. He passed away one year before I got into the Hawks. It was hard to keep up since in Brazil, they used to broadcast two or three games a week, rarely the Hawks. I’d Google the players’ names, the coach’s name, the rules quite often because I always forget those things. When they went to the playoffs in 2010-11 and the Beast Quake happened, I knew there was no other option but being a 12.”
ECS: What is it like trying to follow the Seahawks from another country with kickoff times in different time zones, streaming, news, and staying connected, etc.?
Lumen Loud: “Now it’s easier than when I started. We had seven to nine games broadcasted per week last season. Most Seahawks games were available - if not on TV, it was on some streaming services. It’s easier to find online platforms now, but it’s still a challenge. Most of Brazil is four hours ahead Seattle’s time zone and it goes to a five-hour difference in November. So, for the most important night games and the playoffs, we stay awake way past midnight.
The overtime game against the Rams, I simply didn’t sleep. The game ended around 3 AM and the adrenaline was high. I just stayed awake. We read a lot, because the sports channels are focused on soccer. Plus, what we read is mostly from the U.S. since the local media shares way less about football. They usually just cover the most hyped teams at the time. There are some very dedicated independent media here for NFL. Pages like Rapinas do Mar for the Seahawks - we translate as much as we can, but it’s not usually a formal thing. We write and share during lunch time at our jobs, or at night, whenever we can to help other fans, especially the ones who don’t speak English.”
ECS: How big is the NFL/Seahawks fan community in Brazil, and how do fans usually find each other?
Lumen Loud: “The Seahawks fans are usually ranked as the fifth-biggest in Brazil, with its accelerated growth during/after the Legion of Boom era. When local broadcasts grew from 35-45 games a year to 125 games per year here, now it’s a little more.
We have watch parties in São Paulo and they evolved along social media and group chats. That helped fans find each other and organize the meetings. At first, it was hard to convince the bars to switch the channel to an NFL game. Most games weren’t even broadcasted here. The gatherings happen mostly for important games and the Brazilian 12s stand out, bringing to bars and pubs the same loud energy of Lumen Field.”
ECS: You can meet with Seahawks ownership for one day representing international fans needs or wants, what would it be and how could the team build a stronger global connection, and perhaps create an advantage there over other NFL teams?
Lumen Loud: “I’ll speak for myself about this. I’d love to see more initiatives, maybe during offseason. I won’t say more games, because as much as I’d love that, I know it can be bad for the team, and I’d never trade a home field advantage to see them here. But it would be great having the players, the coach and Blitz - why not, put that bird on the road - for a meet and greet, especially after winning a Super Bowl. Kids would love that.
We’d be the largest fanbase soon. Also, it surprises me that there’s no official Seahawks social media in Portuguese, since Brazil is one of the top NFL audiences. Having the team meeting our culture, sense of humor and memes online in a year like this, would definitely put the Seahawks ahead. Also, more global promotions. And of course, not only more merchandise, but make them easier to get. Our economic situation and weak currency aren’t their problem to fix. Still, we have to import and pay five times or more in taxes if we want the original stuff or more variety.”
ECS: What's your go-to Gameday snack?
Lumen Loud: “A hot dog. Seriously, even before I knew it was a thing in Seattle. Our hot dog is different, no cream cheese or caramelized onions like the “Seattle Dog.” Bread, sausage, shoestring potatoes, vinaigrette, ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. That’s the classic here.”
ECS: What were some rules that were hard to get used to about American football at first?
Lumen Loud: “At first, it was all weird. Yet, the announcers here do a great job explaining everything again every new season, since there are always new fans. I’d say maybe pass interference is the most challenging. I’d always ask myself, “what did the player do wrong?” Now, I know what every penalty means, but I confess that to this day sometimes I’m looking at the receiver and miss a false start or a holding or something else and still need the announcers to say what happened.”
ECS: How did you celebrate the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl?
Lumen Loud: “I’m new to X/Twitter and fans groups in general, so I didn’t attend any watch party. I was at home with my mom, who is now obsessed with the Seahawks too. When I woke up that day, before the game, she was watching the SB XLIX against the Patriots for the first time. She was devastated. She lived that grief and then the happiness of winning the SB on the same day. In a way, so did many Seahawks fans afterwards.
During the game we both screamed and we lost our voices. I kept refreshing X and seeing everything that the American 12s were sharing, especially from the stadium. For the Super Bowl parade, I simply took the day off, opened a beer at 2 PM here and watched the livestream.”
ECS: What's your favorite part of the Seahawks' fan base?
Lumen Loud: “The 12s are a great part of why I love the Seahawks even more now. I joined X a little shy. I thought I’d have to avoid mentioning that I’m a foreigner, so no one would judge me or so I could share any opinions. It was quite the opposite. The 12s are so embracing and passionate about the team and the other 12s. They’ve stood up for me, helped me understand things, shared things that made me feel closer. This fanbase really believes their team is huge enough to be global and they are proud of it. I don’t see any other fanbase with such a strong set of characteristics identically followed internationally. And the PNW/American 12s did that!”
ECS: You're made NFL Commissioner for a day - what do you do?
Lumen Loud: “I’m not an expert, and I know it would take a lot of changes. I’d study all the rules for team ownership to make sure that people really interested in the team’s success would have the chance to buy them - like the Allen family. And to not have random billionaires who have no involvement with the team buy it just because it’s available for sale.
Internationally speaking, I’d implement initiatives and partnerships with independent international media. Also, I’d implement training camps for kids in other countries, with the NFL brand so they’d grow up dreaming about being NFL players not only soccer players, like in Brazil.”
ECS: What else do American fans not realize about their NFL friends in Brazil?
Lumen Loud: “There’s also a lot of pressure from a large group of people here on NFL fans in Brazil. It’s getting better, but sometimes we’re judged when we say we love an NFL team, even if we still keep the passion for a soccer team. It happens with any foreign habit we adopt here or if we use a foreign word to express something that also exists in Portuguese. It’s almost like we’re praising other cultures instead of ours.
Every year during the Super Bowl hype, some people start arguing that the World Cup is more important or whether soccer should be the only national passion. Sometimes I need to keep a low profile and switch between my soccer and football friend groups or social media.”
Thank you to Lumen Loud for that amazing look into the 12s worldwide, more specifically, in Brazil.
As of now, the Seahawks do not have a Global Market Program in Brazil. The official teams listed are the Lions, Dolphins, Patriots, and Eagles. The Seahawks’ “official” Global Market Program countries are currently Austria, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
Passionate 12s like Lumen Loud hope to change that one passionate Seahawks fan, wherever they may live, at a time.
Follow her on X at @thathawksgirl and all of the great work from rapinasdomar.com.br.
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