Jim Harbaugh critical of home crowd in 49ers loss

The San Francisco 49ers played their first regular season game in the brand new Levi’s Stadium on Sunday night against the Chicago Bears, but 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh expected a better reception from the home crowd.

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“I noticed, at times, it was good and loud, yeah,” Harbaugh told reporters, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “And at times, it could be improved.”

The times it was “good and loud” were in the first half when the 49ers were dominating all three phases of the game against the Bears as they blocked a punt four plays into the game, Michael Crabtree caught the first regular season touchdown in the stadium and Frank Gore ran through the defense for an eight-yard touchdown.

And the times it could have been improved were in the fourth quarter when the home team didn’t give the crowd much to cheer for as the Bears scored 14 points in 21 seconds to start the fourth quarter after a Brandon Marshall touchdown reception and a Kyle Fuller interception swung momentum in favor of the Bears.

Chicago rallied to score 21 unanswered points and deflected a Colin Kaepernick pass in the end zone on fourth down to seal the game as both teams left with 1-1 records.

Making matters worse for the crowd were 16 penalties on San Francisco and a total of four turnovers that zapped the enthusiasm right out of the crowd.

Harbaugh’s criticism likely won’t sit well with the fans, but provided his team puts a good product on the field, the fans will have plenty of reasons to get good and loud.

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Jim Harbaugh critical of crowd in San Francisco 49ers home opener

By Patrick Schmidt | Sep 15, 2014