There will be two seismometers installed at CenturyLink field for Saturday’s NFC playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints in Seattle, home to the NFL’s loudest stadium.
The last two times New Orleans has played in Seattle, fans at CenturyLink field have literally caused earthquakes that registered on local seismometers.
According to ProFootballTalk, “the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network has installed two seismometers at CenturyLink Field, one in the playing area and one in the stands. Previously, the seismic activity had been detected with machines in the vicinity of the facility.”
“We hope to learn a little bit more about how the seismic waves travel through the area, and in this case seismic waves generated by the 12th Man,” Bill Steele of the PNSN said.
In December, fans at CenturyLink field registered a Magnitute 1 or 2 earthquake, as Seattle defeated the Saints 34-7 in December.
Seattle only lost once at home this year and has home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs as the top seed. Saints coach Sean Payton went to extreme measures to try to simulate conditions at CenturyLink Field, even painting the Seahawks logo on the Saints practice field. It will rain on Saturday, and Payton also wanted to pull the fire alarm during practice to simulate the wet conditions that are expected but was reportedly talked out of doing so.
The Saints, a team that won its first-ever road playoff game last week in Philadelphia, have notoriously been bad on the road in playoff games when they do not play at the Superdome. The game will pit two fierce defenses against two quarterbacks in Seattle’s Russell Wilson and New Orleans’s Drew Brees who have both defied the scouts and conventional wisdom by flourishing in the NFL despite being told that they were too small to play at the highest levels.
Those watching the game can track any seismic activity during the game on PNSN’s website.
photo: Seattle Times