Do you know the significance of this photo? It’s from the Seattle Seahawks’ 2003 home opener against the New Orleans Saints.
Seattle easily won 27-10, the weather was fine, and it marked the start of the first 8-0 home record in team history. And if you lived in Seattle or within a 75-mile radius of Seahawks Stadium, you couldn’t see the game on television. That photo was what the crowd looked like five minutes before kickoff.
The blackout rule no longer exists as of 2015, but once upon a time the NFL imposed local broadcast restrictions if a team failed to sellout at home.