The Washington Redskins did not sell out their home opener on Sunday, and it was pretty apparent that the crowd was on the sparse side.
The Redskins announced an attendance of 57,013 for the game against the Indianapolis Colts at FedEx Field, which has a capacity of 82,000. The empty seats were obvious on TV, and many of the fans in attendance booed the team as they lost 21-9 and failed to score a touchdown.
That did not sit well with at least one member of the squad, as running back Chris Thompson made clear that he was hoping for a bit more fan support.
“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 said Monday, via Chris Lingebach of 106.7 The Fan. “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.
“Me, I noticed it. I also noticed the boos we got as well, and that’s not something that I’m a real big fan of. 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.”
Thompson admitted that it was a “shock” to see the stadium so empty and conceded that the team needed to play better, but it’s clear that the players noticed.
This is, of course, not even close to the first time Washington has been booed at home. That it happened so early in the season, combined with that attendance, raises some eyebrows.
