The Seattle sound you hear is Pete Carroll chewing.
The Seahawks head coach is one of the NFL's more colorful bench bosses. Between his youthful exuberance and his signature dad sneakers, there are no shortage of identifiable traits that has made Carroll a memorable coach.
But if you've ever tuned into a Seahawks game, you'll notice something distinctly unique: Carroll's enthusiasm for chomping on gum. Whenever cameras catch Carroll marching down the sideline, his jaw follows him, chewing a mile a minute.
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In fact, Carroll's gum-chewing has become known to Seahawks fans around the world, in a gross bit of fandom gone maybe a bit overboard.
Here's what to know about Carroll's choice of concession stand candy:
What gum does Pete Carroll chew?
Step aside, Orbit. Take a hike, Juicy Fruit. Pete Carroll is a Bubble Yum man.
Carroll is a fan of the classic Bubble Yum flavor, and on gamedays, can go through as many as three packs of gum. That means roughly 15 pieces of gum per game and around 260 pieces of gum per season.
ESPN reports that Carroll's gum stash is stocked by the Seahawks director of equipment Erik Kennedy and son Carson. Carson says that the 15 pieces estimate may be more than a bit on the low side, saying that roughly half of a gameday stash — 270 pieces of gum total — will be missing.
The 71-year-old's infatuation with chewing gum has become something of a sticking point with fans. Carroll says it's his "only habit," and that has confused him greatly.
"People ask me all the time about it. It's one of the silliest questions, I don't know why anybody would ever care," Carroll said to ESPN's Adam Schefter in December 2022.
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The obsession for Carroll's gum-chewing habit crosses borders. As ESPN noted, Seahawks fan Tyler Freier got his hands on a piece of game-used Carroll gum and put it in a special resin container — Freier lives in Germany, making the unique piece of memorabilia truly one of a kind.
As far as disposing of the gum, Carroll says he chucks it in the trash, or at least attempts to, but cameras have caught him throwing it in frustration more than once.
So, next time a Seattle receiver makes a miraculous catch, refs shouldn't check him for Stickum. They should check him for Carroll's gum.