Seahawks notebook: Fans screaming for a record

RENTON — CenturyLink Field certainly will be loud Sunday night when the Seahawks host the San Francisco 49ers in their 2013 home opener.

But will it be world-record loud?

Fans are hoping they can be just that, with former Seahawk Joe Tafoya and a fan group called “Volume 12” leading an effort to get CenturyLink Field in the Guinness Book of World Records for “Loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium.”

The current Guinness record was set in 2011 at a soccer game in Istanbul between rivals Galatasary and Fenerbahce, with the crowd recording sounds as loud as 131.76 decibels. The Seahawks fans plan to be louder in a game that, record attempt or not, likely will be one of the rowdiest in Seahawks history. It’s the home opener in one of the most anticipated seasons in Seattle sports history, it’s against the rival 49ers, and it’s this week’s Sunday Night Football game on NBC, meaning a crowd that has had a few extra hours to party before the game.

“It’s really, really exciting at this point,” Tafoya said. “The Seahawks fans are itching for CenturyLink to open the gates so they can get in there. It’s a perfect storm. If ever there was a opportunity to do this, this is it.”

So if you don’t want your ears ringing Monday morning, bring ear plugs. Or be there early to get one of the 10,000 sets being handed out by a company called “hi HealthInnovations.”

As for the logistics of this, Tafoya will be on the field with sound engineer Bill Stewart, who will have high-tech sound meters on the field. The first of three attempts at the record will be recorded during San Francisco’s opening possession, then the group can submit two subsequent measurements to Guinness, which will have a representative on hand.

“That’s awesome,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of the record attempt. “We’ll have a shot. … They’ll have as good of a chance as anybody to make that record come our way.”

Tafoya said he will Tweet out results as he gets them (@JoeTafoya).

And even if you’re the cynical type who finds this type of thing a bit gimmicky, the effect Seahawks fans can have on a game is very real. The Seahawks didn’t go 8-0 at home by accident last season, and there’s a reason 49ers coaches and players have been asked repeatedly about crowd noise this week as they prepare for the game.

“It’s going to be the craziest it’s been since I’ve been here,” third-year linebacker K.J. Wright said. “… It helps us out tremendously. It gives us energy, we feed off of it.”

‘Nothing to’ Twitter exchange

In a rivalry week featuring little in the way of trash talk, 49ers running back Anthony Dixon provided a little something Wednesday night, referring to the Seahawks as the “She-Hawks” in a Tweet. Not long after, Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright responded, calling Dixon’s team the “Forty-Whiners.” Both Tweets have since been deleted.

Wright down played the significance of the exchange, noting that he and Dixon are friends going back to their days as teammates at Mississippi State.

“It got blown up, which it shouldn’t have,” Wright said. “Just an old college teammate. I’ve known this dude for six years, we’re just kidding around, man. There’s nothing to it.

“Even if I didn’t know him, it wouldn’t have been that big a deal. Once we step on the field, nobody remembers that talk anyway. It’s not a big deal at all.”

Wright said he quickly deleted the Tweet without being told to, knowing it would get attention.

“I deleted it like two seconds after,” he said. “I was like, ‘You know, the media’s probably going to blow this up.’”

Injury report

Cornerback Brandon Browner sat out for the second straight day with a hamstring injury. Carroll said Wednesday the Seahawks hoped to get Browner back for Thursday’s practice. Brandon Mebane returned but was limited after sitting out Wednesday with an ankle injury. Fellow defensive tackle Tony McDaniel sat with a groin injury.

Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com.