Eddie Jackson addresses Bears fans booing: 'We hate it' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Eddie Jackson hears the Bears fans booing at Soldier Field, or chanting “Fire Nagy.” It’d be impossible not to. He also understands where fans are coming from, and why they’d boo the team they paid money to watch in person. But Jackson made it very clear that he, and other players do not approve.
“We hate it, honestly,” Jackson said. “The fans gotta understand that doesn't help anything. Y'all want us to play better, do better, that's not helping when you all sitting up there and chanting that.
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“I get it. The frustration, long-time Bears fans have been going through this for a long, long time, so I understand it, but it's not helping the situation. I feel like it's just making it worse.”
It’s easy to see both sides of the story. On one hand, the Bears have played several completely awful games this year, and have squandered other opportunities to win. The Browns game, plus the 49ers and Ravens collapses all occurred at Soldier Field, in front of a home crowd. That home crowd has every right to let the players and coaches know those results aren’t up to snuff. They could also argue that booing can’t make things worse, when the plays that instigate those boos are so bad to start.
On the other hand, Jackson’s probably right when he says the booing doesn’t help. The Bears know better than anyone that the way they played over their five-game losing streak ranged from bad to unacceptable. In addition, the team features several young starters, like Duke Shelley and (until recently) Kindle Vildor on defense, or Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet on offense. I’m not saying that any of those men can’t handle some boos thrown their way, but it’s certainly not the confidence building support any player would hope to receive from his fans. Further, playing at home is supposed to be an advantage, but when a home crowd turns on its team, it can feel even more hostile than a road environment.
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Regardless of whether the loud jeers from Bears fans are right or wrong, Jackson said all the team can do is try to tune it out, and support each other from within.
“I feel like we’re playing for each other. This is a team effort. Coach Nagy has had our backs since the first day he walked in here, so I feel we owe it to him, and I feel like a lot of players feel the same way, that we owe it to him, we owe it to Chicago to go out here and play our best ball.
“If we come to do your job and boo you every day or whatever the case may be, you’re going to feel some type of way, just like the fans. If we come to y’all jobs and boo y’all, how y’all going to feel about it? So he’s still human. We’re still human. Nobody likes it. So we just continue to fight and like I said just block out the noise and continue to do what we do.”
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