Celebrating Fans Cause Minor Earthquakes in U.S. Football Game
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Celebrating Fans Cause Minor Earthquakes in U.S. Football Game

REUTERS/USA Today Sports

Celebrations by Seattle football fans in a Monday night game against the New Orleans Saints were so thunderous that they registered as minor earthquakes on a nearby seismometer, a state university professor said.

The most intense rumble came after Seahawks' defensive end Michael Bennett recovered a fumble by New Orleans' quarterback Drew Brees in the first quarter and ran it back for a touchdown, said John Vidale, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington.

The cheering and foot-stamping at CenturyLink Field was picked up by a seismometer used by the network, which monitors ground motion in Washington and Oregon.

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It measured between magnitude 1 and 2, Vidale said, and it was too small to be traced by the U.S. Geological Survey. Bennett's touchdown was the first of four by Seattle in their 34-7 win.

"Every time the Seahawks scored a touchdown, there was a (seismic) signal," said Vidale, whose network has its headquarters at the University of Washington's Department of Earth and Space Sciences.

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The rivalry between the Seahawks and the Saints has caused tremors in the past.

The seismometer also registered the January 8, 2011, celebration of Marshawn Lynch's 67-yard touchdown run, which sealed a 41-36 playoff victory over the Saints.

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