It was a brisk morning in Seattle with a divisional round matchup against the San Francisco 49ers looming.
One man with red hair and a goatee in his mid/late twenties wakes up with a No. 14 jersey waiting for him. He has a big afternoon ahead, trying to beat traffic to Lumen Field and all. He’s not too superstitious — no lucky socks or anything like that — but he does pay some extra attention to his obliques, massaging them for good measure.
No, this wasn’t Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who had been dealing with an oblique injury ahead of Seattle’s drubbing of San Francisco on Saturday. (Darnold played through it.) Meet Ben Conklin, better known now as “Stan Darnold.”
“I sure was massaging my oblique the morning of the game just in case there was any spiritual or universal connection there,” Conklin said, with a laugh. “Just making sure I wasn’t spinning that thing around or tweaking it in a way that would translate through the universe and screw (Darnold) over.”
In late December, CBS cameras caught Conklin sitting in the first row during the fourth quarter of a Seahawks’ win against the Carolina Panthers. The broadcast put the shot of Conklin side-by-side with one of Darnold on the sideline, and Ian Eagle and JJ Watt were quick to give Conklin a new nickname inspired by his doppelgänger, “Stan Darnold.”
“That’s Stan Darnold” 🤣
Ian Eagle & @JJWatt found a Sam Darnold look alike in the stands 😭 pic.twitter.com/HM9lICuOYN
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 28, 2025
This wasn’t the first time Conklin, a 27-year-old data engineer, had heard of the comparison with the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback. Conklin grew up in Maltby, Wash., just about 20 miles northeast of Seattle, and had been a Seahawks fan since high school.
Conklin later relocated to Charlotte, N.C., with his wife, and when Darnold played for the Panthers in 2021 and 2022, he bought his jersey. When Conklin’s Seahawks signed Darnold in the offseason, the first thing he did was get his jersey.
He and Darnold’s similar appearances had been a running joke between Conklin and his circle of friends and family. “Stan Darnold” is a new nickname, with links to Eminem’s 2000 song about a fan’s admiration of the rapper, but it’s not Conklin’s first alter ego.
“I had used things before like Discount Darnold,” Conklin said, “because I think he’s a little taller, a little more handsome than I am.”
A few minutes after the initial “Stan Darnold” sighting, the CBS broadcast panned back, and this time, Conklin caught onto the joke. His friend Drew, who was watching the game at home, took a picture of the side-by-side comparison and sent it in their group chat.
Hey twin 🤞 @12s pic.twitter.com/4n7jHa4EMk
— xz* – Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 28, 2025
“We told people that we had really good seats and might get on the broadcast or something like that,” Conklin said. “The broadcast caught me reacting in real time to the fact that they had picked up on the comparison. The minute I saw that, I was just dying inside laughing.”
Look-alike contests have spread across the league in recent years. In December 2024, Jalen Hurts and Jason Kelce look-alikes took over Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square, with the retired Eagle later watching the highlights during “Monday Night Countdown.”
“News flash, any overweight white guy with a beard looks just like me,” Kelce said. “It’s an easy competition!”
The same was done for Dan Campbell in Detroit last year and Ben Johnson in Chicago ahead of the Bears’ 2025 playoff run. The Johnson look-alike contest even had prizes, with a $1,000 Visa gift card and free pizza for one year on the line.
“I’d love to show up for one if someone ever organized one for Sam,” Conklin said. “I feel like I’d have a leg up on most of the competition there.”
Now, Conklin and Darnold’s connection goes beyond looks. The Seahawks found Conklin on Instagram after he was spotted in Carolina and asked him to send Darnold a good luck video for the playoffs.
“My ginger brother.” 🤝 pic.twitter.com/CoIqxx46Nd
— xz* – Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 8, 2026
“I probably took 15 takes or so to get that right, but I sent it out, and it was just so awesome to see Sam react,” Conklin said. “I think it just goes to show how cool he is as a guy (and) that he’s willing to have fun with stuff like this on the side in the middle of a super serious, super important season in his career.”
To pay back the favor, Darnold sent Conklin a jersey signed: “To Ben. My ginger brother! Go Hawks!”
Ben Conklin recorded a good luck video for Sam Darnold and received an autographed jersey from the QB in exchange. (Courtesy of Ben Conklin)
Conklin stayed in Seattle this week and plans to attend Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams. It’s the Seahawks’ first appearance in the conference title game since the 2014 season.
If it’s anything like last week, Conklin will be approached by fans asking to take pictures with him, whether they recognize him from this month of Darnold doppelgänger madness or are making the connection themselves in person. And, of course, Conklin is picking the Seahawks to continue on the quest for a Super Bowl LX title.
“It’s been awesome. I mean, just beyond my wildest dreams in a lot of ways,” Conklin said. “I’m a huge fan of the team. I follow tons and tons of different media avenues of the team and watch and listen to tons of Seahawks content all the time. And so, to be in a very small way — and in kind of a funny way — a part of the season has been really funny.”