Beats By Dre Commercial Slams Seahawks Fans
By Todd Pheifer
Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Admittedly, the Seattle Seahawks have some enthusiastic fans. In fact, the fine people in the Emerald City take pride in being the loudest fans in the NFL. Teams that come to CenturyLink Field should prepare some hand-signals ahead of time if they want to actually snap the ball.
When you have this sort of reputation, there will eventually be some criticism. Some critique will be direct and other jabs will be more subtle. The new commercial that features Colin Kaepernick and his headphones is the latter.
Truthfully, the jab isn’t particularly subtle.
In the commercial, Kaepernick is traveling via bus to what is clearly an opposing team’s stadium. We aren’t told specifically who the opponent is, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we are in Seahawks territory.
Waiting for the bus is an angry mob of blue and green fans. They want blood. The bus is rocked, furious insults are hurled and objects begin to fly. If you believe the tone of the commercial, every Seahawks game is a war zone. The only thing missing is the National Guard, rocks and tear-gas cartridges.
To combat this mayhem, Kaepernick calmly places his overpriced Beats headphones by Dre on his head and walks confidently through the drizzle into the stadium. Obviously the point of the commercial is to highlight the noise-canceling qualities of the headphones, but it also sends a clear message about the reputation of Seattle Seahawks fans.
Animals, all.
Are there some crazy fans out there? Certainly. The Seahawks have thousands of classy fans but when you get a football crowd together there are sure to be a few folks that indulge in too many adult beverages and decide to share their opinions with the world around them. It is fair to suggest that every stadium has a few characters.
However, the commercial is still insulting. Some of us are educated professions, and we do not dream of the day where we can flip over a bus carrying the San Francisco 49ers. You can be a passionate fan and still maintain a measure of civility.
The Seahawks have a group of fans that are excited about this team, and that is a fair stereotype. Still, this commercial went too far.