Seahawks have enjoyed plenty of riches since inception

PHOENIX (Reuters) - From an expansion team in 1976, the Seattle Seahawks have become one of the National Football League's best who will be seeking their second consecutive Super Bowl title on Sunday. Along the way, the NFL's only franchise in the Pacific Northwest has developed one of the most raucous fan bases in America. Seattle wasted little time showing their intentions to being a contender. After a 2-12 opening season, they posted winning records in their third and fourth campaigns, the latter which earned Jack Patera coach of the year honors after a second consecutive 9-7 mark. The Seahawks returned from the strike-shortened 1982 season in impressive fashion as they reached the penultimate round of the playoffs, falling 30-14 to the Raiders. Seattle made the playoffs the following year with a 12-4 record despite Curt Warner, who led the American Football Conference in rushing as a rookie, being hurt in the first game. The team went through its first ownership change during the 1988 season when Ken Behring purchased the club from the Nordstrom family. Eight years later, a disgruntled Behring transferred the team's operations to Anaheim, California, although the Seahawks continued to play in Seattle. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen stepped in and offered to buy the team in 1997 on the condition he would get public funding to replace the dreary Kingdome stadium. The team's new home, now called CenturyLink Field, has proven a hostile environment for visiting teams. A raucous fan base, known as the "12th man" for the support they offer the 11 Seahawks players on the field, set a Guinness World Record for crowd noise at a sports stadium in 2013. Seattle reached their first Super Bowl in the 2005 season but were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last season, behind quarterback Russell Wilson and running back Marshawn Lynch, Seattle returned to the title game and beat the Denver Broncos 43-8 in one of the biggest Super Bowl blowouts. A win on Sunday over the New England Patriots would make Seattle the NFL's first team to win consecutive championships in 10 years. Perhaps the greatest player in their history is wide receiver Steve Largent, who retired in 1989 as the NFL's all-time leading receiver. At the time, Largent held six all-time NFL receiving records and in 1995 was elected to the Hall of Fame. He was joined by Cortez Kennedy in 2012 and Walter Jones in 2014. (Reporting by Frank Pingue, editing by Gene Cherry)