Frank Kelty, Denise Furneaux and Phil Hanson raise the "12th Man" flag. / Credit: Ben Matheson

Unalaska has a strong connection with Seattle through the fishing and shipping industries -- and that relationship extends to football with a small but enthusiastic Seahawks fan base.

Three longtime fans cemented that bond Friday when they hoisted a "12th Man" flag at the Tom Madsen Airport. Denise Furneaux brought the flag up from Seattle, where she got it from Terry Fletcher, a former Unalaska resident.

"It makes me want to cry," Furneaux said. "It’s really pretty up there, and look, you’ve got blue sky! I have to take a picture with blue sky behind it. That’s awesome -- just awesome."

The Seahawks raise a "12th Man" flag at every home game to celebrate the fans’ impact on the game. The team claims this leads to penalties on opposing teams and contributed to their undefeated home record last season. The crowd's roar actually set a world record this month when it was measured at 136 decibels.

Frank Kelty says he’s been a fan since the start of the franchise in 1976. He’s predicting a deep run in the playoffs.

"It’s a pretty sure lock at home games, mostly due to the 12th man assisting the team. Road games are a different story with the Seahawks, so we’ll see how they do," Kelty said. "Hopefully they’ll go 14-2 this season and have home field advantage up to the Super Bowl."

The blue-and-white flag flew for a few minutes -- enough time to snap a few photos to send to the Seahawks. After that, it was time to take it down.

Phil Hanson is a 39-year UniSea employee who used to live and work in Unalaska. He was back in town on Friday and helped retrieve the "12th Man" flag -- but didn't know what to do after that.

"We weren’t told what to do with the flag," Hanson said. "Frank [Kelty] wants to keep it and fly it when the Seahawks go to the Super Bowl this year, so I think we’ll leave it here."

The Seahawks have started the season 3-0. They face Houston Sunday.