Almost as soon as the last second ticked off the clock of a playoff loss last January, they began preparing for this time.
On flowering spring mornings and scorching summer afternoons, they rolled through the streets of the region with flags flying from every window and d0nned their jerseys wherever they worked on "Blue Fridays" -- in banks, medical offices, restaurants.
Football season, it seems, never ends when you're a "12."
Seahawks fans (aka the "12th Man") returned to their shrine -- CenturyLink Field -- on Friday night to watch their heroes take on the Minnesota Vikings in a preseason clash that counted for nothing except another chance to shower love on the guys wearing blue.