During the Seahawks’ team meeting on Saturday night, running backs coach Sherman Smith — the starting tailback on Seattle’s first squad in 1976 — talked about a sign that hung in the locker room during that inaugural season 35 years ago.
“What you do speaks so loud, I can’t hear a word you’re saying,” the sign read.
Smith then challenged the current Seahawks to live out that motto in their home opener on Sunday.
The players got the message loud and clear. So, too, did the fans.
The Seahawks, charged up by a stellar defensive performance and a legendary crowd, stormed to a 13-10 win over the Cardinals that seemed to rise from the din of an arena willing its team toward triumph.
It was an important first victory for the Seahawks, not only to get in the win column, but also to prove the importance and power of playing well at CenturyLink Field. It was a message Coach Pete Carroll preached to his team throughout the week leading up to the game.
“If you want to be champions, you have to dominate at home,” Carroll said to his players on Saturday night.
When Sunday came around, it was time for “a celebration of coming home,” as Carroll called it. The Seahawks — and their renowned fans — responded in mighty fashion, holding the Cardinals to just 10 points in a defense-dominated contest that will be remembered for an exhilarating finish and a deafening atmosphere.
Before the game, defensive end 
“Let’s let our energy and our strength feed the crowd so they can feed us right back,” Carroll said to the players before the game.
The typically energetic Carroll was especially so on Sunday as the Seahawks turned in several big plays throughout the game. He kept stoking their fire, calling players to continue playing with energy so the fans would become even more aflame.
“Make sure we bring big energy,” Carroll said during his brief but impactful halftime speech. “Let’s go take this win right now.”
Thirty minutes later, the Seahawks had done just that — played with passion and grabbed the victory. The scene in the locker room after the game looked like the players, who hugged and high-fived each other with great joy, had just won one of the biggest, most exciting games in recent memory. And in many ways, they had. Securing that first win — and in such emotionally charged fashion — means significantly more than just an uptick in the standings. It also means the Seahawks are now on the path toward more of the same, and they’ve got a powerful home crowd assisting for seven more games along the way.
“Let’s be thankful we have a place like this to play,” Carroll said to close out his postgame speech. “Let’s keep going, and let’s come back even stronger next week.”
