Kyle Goon: Many Ravens fans are incensed. Others believe now is the time for loyalty.

If you need an earful, ask a Baltimorean how they feel about the Ravens right now. As far as volume goes, it’s hard to beat Keon Fisher.

Known among the Ravens Flock as “TrippyKicka,” Fisher can talk as long as you can listen — about the injuries to Lamar Jackson, about his misgivings about Marlon Humphrey (both his coverage and his podcast), about a defense he feels has lost its claws and an offensive line that couldn’t block a slow-rolling shopping cart. As we took shelter under a tarp from the misty rainfall over the Ravens Walk outside M&T Bank Stadium Thursday night, he rattled off a long list of every gripe and grievance he has with his favorite team even before it sank to 4-5 with a 33-10 loss that was never very competitive. After 10 minutes, my ear drums were ringing.

But one thing Fisher will always do, no matter what: He’s going to show up. He’s not a season ticket holder, but that doesn’t stop him from buying seats every week — even when he knows he’s walking into a disaster, like he was last night as the Ravens hosted Jacksonville.

“When the players leave, I’m still out there waiting when they lose,” Fisher said. “I’m gonna still rep my team, but I’m gonna still let them know when they doing bad — ‘cause I’m a supporter.”

What is a fan’s role exactly? It’s a question that feels especially apt after one of the most dispiriting Ravens home games in recent memory.

The lousy weather and the loss of Jackson greatly diminished interest in the game, as secondary ticket markets were awash with cheap tickets in the days leading up. The fans who did soldier out to the game suffered through an offense that put up only 55 net passing yards — the fewest by a Baltimore team in nine years.

The boos started as early as player introductions, and were noticeable even on TV by the second quarter when it was clear the Ravens’ offense was going nowhere. Finally in the third quarter, with the rain swelling along with the scoring gap, most of the 70,007 attendees showed their disapproval by leaving.

When Real Fan Dan ripped off his shirt after a fourth-quarter garbag- time touchdown, almost all but the very bottom of the bowl was empty.

During Baltimore’s four-game losing streak, the team itself has critiqued fan behavior. Humphrey drew ire on his podcast (as he often does) for saying Ravens fans are ”always freaking out.” But even before that, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver called out the atmosphere of a second-half collapse to the Cincinnati Bengals, which he compared to a funeral.

“I think the collective energy of not just our sideline, but our fans, need to understand, ‘Hey, sometimes we need you to pump life into us too,’” Weaver said.

Michelle Horning, a season-ticket holder since M&T Bank Stadium opened in 1998, took Weaver’s words as an accusation — and didn’t care for it.

“Pissed me off,” she said. “I know some fans left early, and maybe you gotta kick them in the butt. But we never leave early. … We always support our Ravens.”

There is a chicken-or-the-egg relationship between sports teams and their fans — who ignites who? At this moment, both the Ravens and the fanbase seem to be pointing fingers at the other.

There’s a rising fury among Ravens fans after a second straight season with Super Bowl expectations has run off the rails, especially after an injury to Jackson. For a franchise that has gone to the playoffs for 12 of the past 18 seasons, four straight losses hits a nerve.

Fisher represents the perspective that the fans aren’t getting much to cheer for lately from the players: “We’re doing our job, but they’re not doing their job.”

But there is another point of view that was gracefully laid out by Samantha Pollino, a Hampstead native and rabid Baltimore sports lover who performs in Broadway productions: Real fans support the team through thick and thin.

Pollino is known to Orioles fans for her role in the Colton Cowser “understudy” episode — and she has sung the national anthem for the Ravens. But in her performing roles, she often has found herself as an understudy for much bigger names: When she was recently performing in a revival of Chess on Broadway, she was the understudy for Glee superstar Lea Michele. She knows the feeling of stepping into the main role at a moment’s notice, and understands that an audience could be disappointed that she’s performing instead of a headliner.

In that light, she couldn’t help but feel for rookie quarterback Joe Fagnano as he stepped into Jackson’s role for Thursday’s game.

“I’ve had my fair share of people being disappointed to see me come on for the lead,” she said. “But it’s my job to shut out the noise and do a good job. I know that tickets can be really fricken’ expensive for a show, and you can absolutely be upset and heartbroken that the star isn’t on that night.

“But you don’t have to say, ‘I’m not watching,’” Pollino said.

Pollino is among those pushing back against a rising vitriol that has lashed against the front office, the coaches and even the remaining healthy players. Mark Andrews has felt the coarse side of fans especially for the last two years ever since his two-point conversion drop in Buffalo that ended the Ravens’ 2024 playoff run.

Andrews called the team’s performance “unacceptable,” and acknowledged that the Ravens understand why fans are voicing their displeasure.

“They have every right to boo or do whatever they want to do,” Andrew said. “Obviously, us in here, we have to stay together, be on one accord, and just keep on relying on each other.”

In Pollino’s view, it is moments like these that give meaning to fandom. It is easy to love your team in the good times, but hanging with them through the lean stretches is the investment that ultimately can be the most rewarding.

“How you show up matters even when the team is not winning,” she said. “I do believe that the fans have an obligation to step up in times like these.”

While the stands were not really close to full on Thursday night, there is still a loyal crowd who won’t stop showing up. Keith and Joy Jackson rolled into the stadium just as the gates opened two hours before kickoff, looking chipper in their jerseys (a Lamar Jackson No. 8 and a Derrick Henry No. 22).

They had also heard what Weaver said about the team needing the fans to give them life — and they took it as a challenge.

“Just ‘cause stuff don’t go our way, it ain’t no time to sit out,” Keith Jackson said. “That’s the time for us to get them on our feet and make noise. And that’s what we’re gonna do.”