The fans that left are the "real" fans

Here's a theory: The fans that left early Saturday are the real, devoted fans that care about the football program. The team was mailing it in until well into the 3rd quarter. No one can honestly debate that. And as a result they were getting hammered by what, in the end, proved to be a decidedly inferior opponent. And they didn't appear to care. For the entire first half. There was no sign that players on either side of the ball were reacting to the embarrassment. What's a fan to do? Cheer loudly, and thus reinforce bad behavior? Doesn't seem reasonable. Boo? As many here have observed, that's not appropriate for amateur athletes. But by getting up and walkng out, the fans sent a message loud and clear that they, at least, weren't going to put up with the nonsense. I suggest that this did as much to wake up the team as anything that the coaches or the so-called leaders on the team did. The fans who stayed, well, good for them, they got to see a fun 4th quarter. But I suggest that perhaps they had no more impact on the game in the second half than they did in the first.
So instead of excoriating the fans who left, let's give them a big round of applause for letting the team know what they expect: an honest effort. The message was received and, with a little bit of luck and a lot of effort, the humiliating defeat was avoided.