It was a quick emotional pivot for the Redskins, who were riding high after a road win in which they gave up 500 yards of offense.
Josh Norman used the postgame euphoria to throw down a challenge to Redskins fans, who have largely stayed away from home games this season.
"We can play all our games on the road if you ask me," he said. "But at the end of the day the people who are going to be for you, the fans that are really going to have your back? They’ll be there."
Days later, he led a host of players in giving away free tickets to fans who promised to come and get loud at the game on Sunday vs. the Houston Texans.
The topic dominated conversation around the team this week, making national headlines and even earned a mention during the Redskins-Texans broadcast.
But it didn't matter in the ticket office, where things looked as dismal as ever. Even though the Redskins are 6-3 and lead the NFC East, going up against another division leader in the Texans, fans stayed away. Here's what it looked like:
FedEx is basically empty 10 min before kickoff #redskins #HTTR pic.twitter.com/qA7tAT13L8
— Nat (@natwolpert)
November 18, 2018 The view for today. #nfl #redskins #texans #football pic.twitter.com/bYqXK0sO5v
— Turducken Tolu (@DArkMEATHOOK)
November 18, 2018 Lots of empty end zone seats at kickoff. Maybe 35K here. Not surprising given holiday and opponent, but this is a meeting of two division leaders.
— Rick Snider (@Snide_Remarks)
November 18, 2018 @granthpaulsen @funnydanny .The #Redskins still have a problem. pic.twitter.com/luGciHOIgy
— Disco (@discoque5)
November 18, 2018 In addition to the stadium being empty, Norman focused his criticism on fans who come and boo. The boo birds were kept at bay early, even as the team fell behind 10-0. That changed once Alex Smith threw his second interception in the second quarter, putting the Texans in a position to put the game out of reach (they did not, missing a field goal).
However, fans walked away at halftime, rather than honor former general manager Bobby Beathard, an architect of the glory teams:
Beathard is strolling the red carpet for his halftime ceremony after making HOF in July. About 20% of crowd stayed to watch maybe most important person in franchise history.
— Rick Snider (@Snide_Remarks)
November 18, 2018 Based on the comments of team COO and business lead Brian Lafemina, the Redskins know that they have a serious problem with fan culture right now. It just might be worse than even they imagined, and winning games is clearly only part of the equation.
But despite the low attendance — the announced turnout was 61,593, about 75-percent of FedEx Field's 82,000-seat capacity — Norman and other players praised the fans afterwards for the noise they generated.
No we didn’t get the W today, just way ball rolls sometimes. BUT #FEDExFIELD You guys Was ROCK’N!! Today That Atmosphere was Electrifying! We Fed-off you guysAll-day.. BigUp’s---- we salute ya’ll in a Big way! Now onto Dallas &Furthering this divisional Title race. HTTR----#11
— *Joshua R. Norman (@J_No24)
November 18, 2018 ShoutOut To The Skins Fans! Loud As I Ever Heard Y’all. Sorry We Couldn’t Get The W! We Will Continue Grinding. We Are On To Dallas!! #DivisionTime Who Got The Broom?
— DJ Swearinger (@JungleBoi_Swagg)
November 18, 2018 S/o to all the skins fans that showed up and showed out at fed ex!!
— Ryan Anderson (@_ryananderson22)
November 18, 2018 Follow Brian Tinsman and 106.7 The Fan on Twitter.
