The Seattle Seahawks' stadium doesn't need a decibel meter to validate its status as arguably the NFL's loudest venue.

The New York Giants' experience in Seattle back in 2005 comes to mind.

So, while I'm eager to see whether Seattle fans can break a world record for crowd noise against San Francisco in Week 2, I think the stadium could lose just a bit of its mystique if the reading falls far short of the record.

Claiming the NFL's loudest fan base is a bit like saying your dad is the toughest around. There's some risk in making him prove it.

"The current record for loudest crowd roar is 131.76 decibels, set on March 18, 2011, during a soccer match at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul, Turkey," the Associated Press reports. "The Seahawks say Seattle's famed 12th Man has been measured at 112 decibels, louder than a power saw or rock concert but not much more quiet than a Boeing 747."

There were 51,988 fans in attendance at that 2011 soccer game, according to the Guiness Book of World Records. The Seahawks can pack more than 65,000 into CenturyLink Field, and their stadium was designed with noise generation in mind.

"Architect Jon Niemuth somehow managed the clever trick of making an outdoor stadium as loud as a domed arena," Greg Garber wrote for ESPN last season. "Those were his marching orders from owner Paul Allen when planning began to replace the late, great Kingdome. Allen, who grew up as a University of Washington football fan, wanted the raucous atmosphere of Husky Stadium."