Have the Seahawks lost their seismic home-field edge?

Mike Salk attended a Seahawks game in the stands for the first time in a while and came away less than blown away by the noise level.

BY ERIC MANDEL

Nov 30, 2015, 10:18 AM Updated: 11:35 am

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After being nearly unbeatable at CenturyLink since 2012, Seattle is 4-2 at home in 2015. (AP)

(AP)

It had been a while since 710 ESPN Seattle’s Mike Salk had attended a Seahawks game outside of the press box or suites. That changed Sunday, sitting with his friends in the 300-level seats.

It was a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair, but one of Salk’s biggest concerns came off the field: He was able to have a normal conversation.

“CenturyLink is not a great home-field advantage anymore,” Salk said. “It’s not loud.”

The 12th Man has been known for creating seismic rumblings at CenturyLink, setting noise records for the loudest outdoor sports stadium on multiple occasions. But after being nearly unbeatable at CenturyLink since 2012, Seattle is 4-2 at home in 2015, which includes the controversial 13-10 victory earlier this year against Detroit.

Any number of reasons have been attributed to the more subdued noise level and relative lack of success. The loudest blame often gets directed at major tech businesses such as Amazon, whose high-paid employees drive ticket prices up, thus driving out the more raucous, die-hard fans by giving them a compelling reason to sell their season tickets.

This season, there’s also the middling 6-5 record and a less-than-dominant defense at times. There was an influx of Steelers fans in attendance during the Seahawks’ 39-30 win Sunday, which Brock Huard partially attributed to it being Thanksgiving weekend.

“If (season ticket-holders are) going to sell their tickets, this is probably the game they were going to sell,” Huard said.

Salk estimated only 10 percent of the crowd were Pittsburgh fans and doesn’t buy the unsatisfying record argument, saying it was louder when he sat in the 300 level during the Jim Mora and early Pete Carroll years.

“This whole thing started before the Seahawks were any good,” he said. “Never did we get that ear-splitting, I can’t even think because it’s so loud.”

Huard said the crowd-noise seemed as loud as ever on TV and noted that the seismic graphic is still displayed on the big-screen. Salk isn’t convinced.

“They put a meter up there but I’m not sure it stands for anything,” Salk said. “They don’t actually put the decibel level, it’s just a meter.”

Huard’s suggestion: How about trying to break the noise record again?

You can hear the conversation starting near the 13:20 mark of this podcast of the second hour of “Brock and Salk.”