The 57,000-fan throng who showed up for Washington’s home opener may have been small but it was vocal. At the wrong times. And running back Chris Thompson didn’t like it.
“I think, as players, we go out there, we want a loud crowd, we want a crowd out there to give us a boost,” Thompson told reporters on Monday, via 106.7 The Fan in D.C. “When their offense is on the field, put them in situations where the communication may be off because they can’t hear and things like that, and we didn’t have a good turnout.”
Thompson noticed the lack of noise when the Colts had the ball, and the adverse noise directed to the home team for its subpar showing.
“I . . . noticed the boos we got as well, and that’s not something that I’m a real big fan of,” Thompson said. “If you’re a fan of a team, you shouldn’t be booing them, whether we’re doing good or bad. We understand as players that we’re not performing how we should. You don’t have to boo us to let us know — we’re out there on the field.”
It makes sense, but good luck reasoning with salty fans who paid good money to watch a not-so-good product.
“The one thing you should be doing, in my opinion, is cheering us on,” Thompson said. “But, you know, it is what it is. As a team, we just gotta have a better showing than that, I think. Our offense is better than what we showed. For me, I’ve got to make bigger plays. I’ve got make some guys miss when Alex [Smith] puts the ball in my hands as much as he did yesterday, and that’s pretty much it.”
Thompson was “shocked” by the number of empty seats. And he’s optimistic that it was less related to the team and more related to the conditions.
“I’m hoping it was because of the weather, or what was supposed to happen with the weather,” Thompson said. “We’ve got another one Sunday, so we’ll see.”
While the weather may not be a factor next Sunday, the team’s lackluster showing on the most recent Sunday may serve to keep fans away.