DETROIT – It’s the buzzword of the month: the “12th Man.”
Last week, it was the word of the day on www.urbandictionary. com, a Web site that provides definitions for the lingo of the day.
And this week it’s been the subject of courtroom drama as Texas A&M University is seeking an injunction against the Seattle Seahawks for using the term, which the school claims to have invented in 1922.
On Tuesday, I went to a couple of experts on the topic: Seahawks defensive lineman Rocky Bernard, a Texas A&M alumnus, and linebacker D.D. Lewis, who attended rival University of Texas.
It seems to pretty much boil down to one of those “can’t we all just get along” situations.
“I try to stay clear from that,” Bernard said. “I love both organizations. I love A&M. I love the Seahawks. I just hope they get it all worked out. … I guess (Texas A&M) started it, but every stadium should have a ‘12th Man.’”
Lewis said he wasn’t too sure what to make of the Seahawks’ tradition after years of college rivalry.
“Being from the University of Texas, I was like, “What’s going on?’” Lewis said. “I come from battling the 12th Man to being a part of it.”
But Lewis wasn’t too fond of his college rival’s attempt to stall the Seahawks’ momentum.
“A&M, they’ve just got to let it go,” he said. “We’ve been doing good with the 12th Man, so, you know, just let it go.”
The longest road trip
The Pittsburgh Steelers think they had it tough, having to win three road games to get to Super Bowl XL.
But they haven’t met Tad Anderson.
Anderson, a satellite engineer for KING-TV in Seattle, drove the station’s news truck to Detroit. KING-TV obviously isn’t the only local station that sent reporters to the big game, but it’s the only one that sent its truck.
Anderson left Jan. 24, and the trip took five days, with overnight stops in Butte, Mont.; Gillette, Wyo.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Rockford, Ill., before arriving in Detroit after an eight-hour leg on Saturday.
Because of legal restrictions, Anderson couldn’t drive more than 10 hours a day, and the truck couldn’t even reach the posted speed limit in some states.
“That truck won’t go 75 miles an hour,” Anderson said. “So my leg got cramped putting the pedal to the metal. And there’s no cruise control.”
The drive was a long one, but it gave Anderson a chance to see his family, who live in Gillette, and deliver some recently requested gifts.
“As soon as they found out I was driving out, they were begging for Seahawks stuff,” he said. “My brother, ‘Get me a Shaun Alexander shirt.’ My mom, ‘Get me a T-shirt.’ My dad, ‘I want another Seahawks baseball hat.’”
The chance to see the family was great, but that didn’t mean Anderson didn’t try to get out of driving the truck.
“I tried to talk them into putting it on a train, doing anything to get it out here,” he said. “Somehow, I drew the short straw. But this will be a memorable trip.”
Media bias?
ABC commentator John Madden might not have a favorite team in Sunday’s game, but he definitely has a favorite neighbor.
Madden and Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren both own property near Monterey, Calif.
“His wife and daughters will go out and shop, and he and I will drink coffee and talk football,” Madden said.
Madden knew Holmgren before they became neighbors. They both grew up in the Bay Area and formed a relationship while Madden coached the Oakland Raiders and Holmgren served as an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers.
“It seems like I’ve known Mike Holmgren all my life,” Madden said.
Reporter Scott Johnson contributed to this notebook.
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