The Jacksonville Jaguars actually find themselves in the midst of possibly beating the Indianapolis Colts to end the NFL regular season and inspire some semblance of hope for its fanbase.
However, that doesn’t appear to have changed fans’ minds too much about the state and the franchise and the decision to keep general manager Trent Baalke on following the Urban Meyer disaster and in spite of the fact that he appears to be hindering their new head coach search.
As promised, tons of Jacksonville fans showed up in clown makeup and outfits on Sunday to protest the state of things. And while the Jaguars played well on the field, their presence was felt throughout the day in some very funny ways.
It started early when they all showed up beforehand to set the tone.
Last one of the season #dtwd pic.twitter.com/DxgPEGp20F
— Bold City Brigade (@BoldCityBrigade) January 9, 2022
#DUUUVAL #FireBaalke let’s gooooooooo pic.twitter.com/QBONX8J5WE
— dave (@drizzle_dave) January 9, 2022
It didn’t take long once the game started for the “Fire Trent Baalke” chants to take over the stadium.
1 minute into the Jaguars game and the clowns are chanting “Fire Baalke” pic.twitter.com/HdS8YYug5Q
— Sir Yacht (@SirYacht_) January 9, 2022
That didn’t take long #FireBaalke pic.twitter.com/FuqavbZtMC
— duvallll904 (@duvalllll904) January 9, 2022
The #FireBaalke chants are not stopping anytime soon pic.twitter.com/80jMKK4yg3
— Emily Bloch (@emdrums) January 9, 2022
Things really went overboard when a fan joined an in-stadium announcer for a Jaguars trivia game. When given some facts about a former Jaguar player and asked to say who that was, she instead responded with “C. Fire Baalke,” to the delight of many while the announcer did everything she could to keep her composure.
Here’s how things are going in Jacksonville: as part of an in-stadium trivia game, a fan had 3 options to answer a question.
Her response: “C. Fire Baalke.”
(🎥: @TrevorlandPod) pic.twitter.com/5GCvcck2ti
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 9, 2022
And someone even spotted the man who inspired all these clowns in the first place, noting that Baalke himself was at the stadium and witness to all of it. Ouch.
https://twitter.com/E_Dilla/status/1480237605266546698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1480237605266546698%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fftw.usatoday.com%2Flists%2Fcolts-jaguars-fans-dressed-as-clowns
The ironic part of the protest is that it does appear the Jaguars will pull off a major upset today. Who knows, maybe this is the start of a new tradition where Jaguars fans dress up as clowns to inspire their team to victory. Whatever works, right?
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.