As the Seattle Seahawks continue the 34th chapter of their predominantly uninteresting history, Seattle fans can unanimously agree that the Hawks have reached their highest point yet. Under personable Head Coach Pete Carroll, the reigning NFL champs are led by one of the most efficient young quarterbacks in Russell Wilson, and possess one of the most feared secondary units in recent history. Furthermore, they reside in a stadium so deafening, seismometers have picked up low magnitude earthquakes in the surrounding area during significant games.
Still, the road to Super Bowl XLIX will be no cakewalk for Seahawks. In recent history, the previous champion has not fared particularly well the following season, as four of the past eight Super Bowl winners have failed to reach the subsequent playoffs, let alone get a second shot in the playoffs the year following. Repeat or bust, rain or shine, the Seahawks boast tech savviness, and lots of it.
Unlike the troubled franchises of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seahawks’ performance on the field and the rabid local fanbase generates consistent attendance at CenturyLink Field, regardless of their ability to engage and draw fans through excessively interactive technology. Decades before Wi-Fi and HD video boards, the Seahawks’ number 12 jersey was retired to honor the dedicated fans that packed into their previous home, the Kingdome.
Now, the intimidating CenturyLink Field houses both modern technology and the NFL’s most raucous supporters. To start, CenturyLink, Inc. is a multinational, Louisiana-based communications and data provider. A member of the S&P 500 Index, CenturyLink is the third largest telecommunications company in the U.S., in terms of total lines served, behind AT&T and Verizon. After Seahawks Stadium opened in 2002, Qwest Communications signed a 15-year, $75 million naming rights agreement in 2004. Seven years later, CenturyLink absorbed Qwest and the title changed once again.
Prior to this season’s opening game on Thursday Night Football, CenturyLink Field played host to the NFL’s Tech Fest showcase–an event for companies of various natures to exhibit their freshest tech innovations. NBC proved to be the headlining player of the Tech Fest, as they unveiled a broadcasting apparatus unprecedented in quality and capability.
A convoy of four semi-trucks houses a 75-man team responsible for monitoring and editing 100 streams of instant-replay from 32 stadium cameras. Look up from the bleachers and you might even notice the NBC airplane circling above, capturing HD footage from a bird’s-eye view (or should I say, Seahawk’s-eye view?). Each camera captures 1.5 gigabits of data per second before sending the footage via fiber-optic cable to the broadcasting trailers for editing. Inside the semis, the floor and walls are littered with video screens, mixing boards, and graphics stations for the NBC team to create and insert clips, graphics, and other media into the broadcast.
Bose was another major presence at CenturyLink for Tech Fest, fittingly presenting a new line of noise-canceling headphones to the loudest venue in the NFL. Not only did Russell Wilson and other players don Bose’s new headphones, the Quiet Comfort 25 model was released in November, but Pete Carroll promoted the first line of noise-canceling headsets for NFL coaches.
After 13 years of Motorola headsets, the NFL struck a new deal with Bose two years ago, and the longstanding audio company began to integrate their award-winning, aviation-grade, noise-canceling technology into an NFL headset. Available in both two-eared and one-eared models, the Bose NFL Headset will transform even the 137 decibel capabilities of CenturyLink Field into a subtle rumble of vibrations.
Player performance is another area the Seahawks have begun to implement intriguing new technology. In March of 2013, the Seahawks recruited GPSports Systems, an Australian information technology and research development company, to their repertoire of training strategies on their way to Super Bowl XLVIII.
GPSports offers clients GPS-based training devices, worn on person by players in specific vests, to monitor numerous physical components, including acceleration, heart rate, distance traveled, collision force, and more. Data from these minute, 67 gram SPI HPUs (Sports Positioning Indicator High Performance Unit) is then wirelessly transferred to a database for extensive analysis.
From here, coaches and trainers can analyze specific player data to adapt and tweak each positions’ training regimen, while ensuring that each player is not exceeding his or her maximum work load and at-risk for injury. Using such data, a coach may notice his receiving core needs to work more on explosion and acceleration in practice and less on long-distance endurance. Likewise, it may become apparent that the offensive line’s average heart rate in practice is exceeding a healthy level, and he can adjust their workouts accordingly.
In July, GPSports was purchased by another Australian-based sport technology company, Catapult Sports. Catapult also specializes in athlete analytics and performance management via GPS technology; and, ultimately, their greater presence in the American sport market proved to give them the upper hand in this unique industry. As a sole entity, GPSports played a role in a Super Bowl championship, a Rugby League world title, and a Spanish soccer championship.
Of course, the Seahawks do not yet possess a brand as marketable in places outside of their home in the Pacific Northwest as do the Dallas Cowboys or New England Patriots, but in relation to social media, they are a visibly rising force.
In an interview earlier this year with Sean Callanan of Sports Geek, Seahawks and Seattle Sounders FC Digital Media Director, Kenton Olson, described the wild ride that encompassed the Seahawks’ playoff run. One peculiar aspect Olson’s team realized during this time was the superior fan engagement towards Instagram pictures than video and text posts to Facebook or Twitter.
Despite having only a quarter number of followers on Instagram compared to the 2 million who like the Seahawks on Facebook, the average Instagram posted recorded over 39,000 engagements, drowning the average of 26,000 engagements per Facebook post. As a result of the constantly changing Facebook timeline algorithm, the average user views only 20 percent of the possible 1,500 stories that surface on their daily feed. For the Seahawks digital media team, it was apparent they were buried in the unfortunate 80 percent more than they hoped.
Olson notes that the nature of the Instagram app, the lack of links, an overwhelming focus on pictures, etc., possibly keeps fans engaged on social media feed longer than Twitter or Facebook due to the variety of content. As the NFL progresses each season with social media, it will be interesting to watch how Instagram’s role grows, and if other digital media teams similarly adapt their strategies.
During this season, Seattle remained in the crosshairs of the rest of league, but their 12-4 record was an excellent sign that the Seahawks have not lost a beat. Technologically, the Hawks have reached the point where they can nearly match up with the juggernauts of the league. As long as the 12th man continues to roar, Pete Carroll continues to lead, and Richard Sherman keeps talking, the Seahawks will be the team of this generation.