SEATTLE – Thousands of normally loud Seahawks fans are calling for silence from one NFL broadcast team who they say are biased against their favorite team.
An online petition is calling for FOX Sports announcing team Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to be banned from calling future Seahawks games.
The petition, posted by Corey Bailey, had over 18,000 signatures as of Saturday morning. It reads:
"The Seattle Seahawks 12th man are growing increasingly tired of the negative remarks that are consistently made against our team by Fox Sports commentators Troy Aikman & Joe Buck. As nationally televised games, we understand that the commentators need to be sensitive to both the fans of the home and away team. However, Aikman & Buck's comments heavily favor any and all of the Seahawks opponents. Their comments are incredibly critical and degrading. Not only do we respectfully request, the 12th Man DEMANDS that these two commentators be banned from calling any future Seahawks games."
Several of the people signing the petition are echoing Bailey's remarks.
"It appeared that the negativity was also directed towards the officials. So when someone is that negative it makes watching the game very difficult," said an unidentified person from North Dakota.
"My kids were watching that game. What is with the negativity? Seriously!? If you can't give unbiased, and degrading commentary, then you shouldn't be on national television," said Heather Simmons.
"Commentators are supposed to be unbiased. These two clearly are not. I do not understand why Fox Sports allows their employees to consistently bash the Seahawks. Our team doesn't just represent Washington, but Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, And many other states in the Pacific Northwest. Our fans are all across the world and travel to away games and are a force to be reconned (sic) with at home. We have been to back-to-back Super Bowls, and won. It's time for some respect. At the very least, unbiased reporting should be a given for any team," said Mary Helen Wilert.
It's not clear when the petition was created, but a large number of comments discuss last Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys. Buck did not call that game because he was calling Game 5 of the World Series in New York. Thom Brenneman filled in for him on play-by-play.
Aikman played his entire Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys.
Not everyone is on board with the petition.
"I am a hawks fan and Troy does sound biased in his comments BUT banning them is pulling a 40-whiners and embarrassing !!" wrote Tami Gatzke on the KING 5 Facebook page.
"I'm starting a petition to ban this petition," wrote Ron Lee.
Brad Toft had this advice.
"I grew up in Seattle. I've waited a lifetime to have a sports team that people across the country hate. That moment has finally arrived. Let the haters do what they do," wrote Toft.
Seahawks fans aren't the first to call for a ban on the Buck-Aikman team. There have been multiple petitions to ban them from calling Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers games for the same reason. There was also a petition started in recent years to prevent CBS' Phil Simms from calling Denver Broncos games.
Aikman and Buck talked about this in a January interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"It's part of the job. Joe probably said it best: Fans say, 'We want you to be unbiased,' but they really don't. They want you to be biased toward their team," said Aikman.
Local sports radio entered the conversation this week. 710 ESPN Seattle's Brock and Salk discussed the petition at length during their show Thursday morning, including playing clips from the Seahawks-Cowboys game to illustrate whether Aikman showed bias against the Seahawks.
It's unlikely FOX Sports will follow the request. They regularly assign Buck and Aikman to the biggest matchups involving the best, most popular teams. That's why Seahawks fans who don't like them will have to live with it if the Seahawks reach the NFC Championship Game again. Buck and Aikman will call that one. That's also why you are less likely to see the pair calling games between the Buccaneers and Titans or the Bears and Jaguars.
"If you don't want them calling the games, start rooting for the Seahawks to lose, because Buck and Aikman only call what they perceive to be the biggest, most important games with the best teams," said 710 ESPN Seattle's Dave Grosby in reaction to the petition. "So if you start rolling out 7-9 seasons, you won't have to worry about it anymore."
If the Seahawks are, one, day, no longer consistent winners or if their widespread popularity eventually wanes, the petitioners will get what they wish -- less of Buck and Aikman.
