PORT ANGELES — One of Port Angeles’ smallest and newest Seattle Seahawks fans has been bestowed with a rather unique way of honoring the Super Bowl-bound team.
Longtime Seahawks fans Troy and Kelly Mann, both of Port Angeles, have given their newborn daughter a middle name of “12th,” making her Cydnee Leigh 12th Mann.
You read correctly: 12th Mann, as in the moniker for the legions of Seahawks fans known for their volume and fervor in support of their team.
“She’s our little Sea Gal,” Mann told KING-TV in Seattle, referring to the name of the Seattle Seahawks cheerleader squad.
Twelfth Man fever has swept Washington in the week leading up to today’s match-up against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII in East Rutherford, N.J.
Flags bearing the 12th Man and Seahawks logos can be seen on homes and businesses from Forks to Port Townsend — and throughout the Northwest.
The 12th Man also reached all the way to the East Coast after a massive 12th Man flag signed by thousands of fans arrived in New Jersey last week.
The Manns told NBC’s “Today” and KING-TV that they came up with the idea for 12th as a middle name after they watched the Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football Conference championship game Jan. 19, the win that sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.
Troy Mann said little Cydnee Mann started kicking inside her mother as she never had before, and the parents considered it “a sign” that she already was a fan.
The Manns couldn’t be reached by the Peninsula Daily News for comment Friday and Saturday.
Cydnee Leigh 12th Mann was born Monday at 9:41 a.m. at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, according to NBC’s “Today,” and returned with her parents to Port Angeles on Wednesday.
Kelly Mann told KING-TV that her other children, who are 6 and 10 years old, are jealous and want 12th as a middle name, too.
The Manns told their friends and family on Facebook about their daughter’s name and never imagined how much attention it would generate, according to KING-TV.
________
Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
