San Francisco 49ers Rip Fans For Classless Behavior In Latest Loss

The San Francisco 49ers dropped another game and fans earned the ire of the team for cheering when C.J. Beathard went down with an injury.

For a moment there yesterday, Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers and a fanbase that holds itself up as model citizens and the gold standard of fanbases around the league, sounded a whole lot like Veteran’s Stadium circa October 1999.

Which, if you know your history, you know is hardly a compliment.

If you recall, back in 1999, Cowboys star wideout Michael Irvin had his career ended in Veteran’s Stadium after sustaining an injury to his spinal cord. And as he was wheeled off the field, some of Philadelphia’s fans actually cheered his departure.

Which is pretty much still remains the crown jewel of horrific fan behavior.

Of course, what more can you really expect from a fanbase that boos and throws snowballs at Santa Claus?

But surely, the staid and refined 49ers faithful would never engage in such boorish and tasteless behavior. That’s something that just wouldn’t happen in Santa Clara where sophistication and class ooze from every pore.

Right?

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Apparently not, as the few thousand people left in the stands at that late stage of the fourth quarter, with the Seahawks cruising to victory, channeled their inner-Eagles fan.

They cheered when Beathard went down after taking a solid hit from Seattle defensive end Michael Bennett – just one of the many shots Beathard absorbed on the day.

Granted, C.J. Beathard didn’t sustain the level of injury that Irvin did on the hard turf of Vet’s stadium. There was no fear that he might not be able to walk again, like there was with Irvin.

And unlike Irvin, Beathard will be able to come back and play again next week.

So yes, there are plenty of things that aren’t like the other in the two scenarios. But still, some folks in the stands thought it a good idea, or was the right thing to do, to cheer when a player was down with an injury. And most of us thought 49ers fans are supposed to be better than that.

Right?

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The cheering while Beathard was still on the turf was something that didn’t escape the notice of the 49ers players. After the game, the players ripped the fans for cheering the injury in the wake of the team’s latest loss.

In an interview with the Mercury News, Eric Reid had this to say:

"“Our starting [QB] got hurt and people are cheering before he even stands up. That pisses me off. I’m disappointed in our fans. I understand the excitement about Jimmy, he’s a great player, but that’s not right.”"

And rookie Reuben Foster added:

"“First of all, I wanted to say our fans are better than that. You wait until a guy gets up to cheer, not when a guy’s down. Then when he’s up, you cheer.”"

The cheering was no doubt fueled by the knowledge that Beathard’s departure would lead to the insertion of recent trade acquisition Jimmy Garoppolo. And that excitement was no doubt fueled even higher by Garoppolo’s performance in his very brief debut.

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19 yards on 2/2 passing with a touchdown – a 10-yard strike to receiver Louis Murphy in the game’s final moments is the stat line that has launched the legend of Garoppolo in Santa Clara.

Everybody is so pumped about Garoppolo’s brief, but effective cameo, that an act that was tasteless, if not classless, is what helped launch that brief cameo. An act that angered a good many of the 49ers players.

Look, debating about whether or not Beathard should have been starting in the first place is one thing. Arguing about the merits of Beathard versus Garoppolo under center is something else.

Garoppolo flashed yesterday and has this fanbase understandably excited. In just over a minute of action, he showed why many are calling for him to be taking the starter’s reps.

And all of that is a conversation worth having.

But cheering when somebody goes down with an injury? Especially when you can’t possibly know the extent of it? That’s pretty out of bounds and is pretty tasteless and classless.

That shouldn’t happen – apparently anywhere outside of Philadelphia – and the players are right to be angry.