Jax/Orlando rivalry just stepped up a notch

[Jason]

Gotta say, THAT GAME ROCKED!!!!

Garcia chalks up another record and the O-Town Mickeys scurry home with their tails between their legs.  Rivalry?  What Rivalry?!!   

[Jason]

And it looks like the Sharks are now in first place in the division and the league because the Rattlers lost.

[johnnyroadglide]

Gotta say, THAT GAME ROCKED!!!!

Garcia chalks up another record and the O-Town Mickeys scurry home with their tails between their legs.  Rivalry?  What Rivalry?!!   

It was a beatdown for sure...and looked even better on the sunday replay on the NFL Network..but I do wonder why the commissioners microphone and the singers of the anthem microphone were so low in volume it was almost impossible to hear them. yet the pa announcer you could probably hear next door. It was even hard to hear the commissioner on the tv replay.

[Reeves Army]

Yes, Predators fans definitely have an obnoxious streak. (not really an Arena fan here) Then again, they are also what helped keep the AFL afloat with the year off, especially their rivalry with Tampa Bay.

You guys should be proud, breaking 10k for that game. You're definitely on the higher end of AFL attendance now, assuring Florida as the stronghold of "living room football". :p

[Keith-N-Jax]

Wish I could have been there.

[Jason]

The Sharks, once again, in first place after a beatdown at SeaBest Field.

Now a tough three weeks lined up as they are all away games and all against division rivals.

[Jason]

How is this for payback!!

Rumor has it that the city of Orlando is trying to squash this idea...

SHARKS NATION TO BE UNLEASHED ON ORLANDO
06/04/2011 5:24 PM


Jacksonville, Fla - For the first time ever, a franchise is allowing its fans to relay messages to one of its rivals to be seen publicly in the opposing city. The Sharks have purchased five digital billboards and will display messages tweeted to the Orlando Predators by Sharks’ fans beginning Monday morning, June 6, 2011 and run through Friday, June 10, 2011. Fans can do this by tweeting messages to @ORLPredators and include the hashtag #JaxSharks (@orlpredators #jaxsharks).

"After the Predators called Jacksonville rednecks on the billboards back in April, we knew we had to come up with some creative way to return the favor when we traveled to Orlando," said Jeff Bouchy, Jacksonville Sharks' Managing Partner. "Rather than simply give Orlando a message about our views of their city and team, we decided to allow Shark Nation a chance to speak their minds."

In late April, prior to the Orlando Predators playing against the Sharks in Jacksonville on Sea Best Field, Orlando Predators' managing partner Brett Bouchy (younger brother to Jeff Bouchy) purchased billboards with a message to the entire city of Jacksonville. "Jacksonville Sucks. See You Rednecks April 30. Love the Orlando Predators." The Predators stirred up an entire community, but were crushed 76-55 at the hands of the Sharks in front of a nationally televised audience on the NFL Network.

"The innovational use of these billboards is more than just a way for our fans to retaliate," stated Bouchy. "This corresponds with the Sharks' desire to be the most fan interactive organization in the world. We encourage fans to be clever and creative and I am sure they have a lot of fun poking fun at the Preds and Mousetown," added Bouchy.

[blizz01]

Haha - Oh well, fun while it lasted I suppose.....from the Business Journal:

ClearChannel switches off Sharks fans’ billboard tweets

Some trash-talking tweets from Jacksonville Sharks fans have prompted ClearChannel Outdoor in Orlando to turn off digital billboards featuring a live Sharks Twitter feed.
The Sharks’ ads were to start Monday and run this week leading up to the Saturday night game against the Orlando Predators, Sharks managing partner Jeff Bouchy said.
The billboard included space for a live Twitter feed of tweets that included the hashtag #jaxsharks. Spectrum TV in Jacksonville, which designed the billboards, was to monitor the feed for profanity and disparaging remarks, Bouchy said, but the billboards were pulled when the tweets started to include mentions of the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard and Disney references.
“The tweets said things like, ‘The Predators are so bad, not only does Dwight want to leave, the mouse wants to leave,' ” Bouchy said. “[ClearChannel] said we don’t like fans ripping Orlando or Disney or Dwight Howard â€" he is a community asset and you can’t do that. It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, really? Have you heard of the First Amendment?’ ”
Bouchy said the billboards were turned off Thursday and he was told the Sharks’ $3,000 would be refunded.
They were in response to billboards the Predators took out in Jacksonville when the team played here in April. They read, “Jacksonville sucks. See you rednecks April 30. Love, the Orlando Predators.”
Bouchy’s brother, Brett Bouchy, owns the Predators. Jeff Bouchy at one point owned a share of that team, and Sharks head coach Les Moss was previously a coach with the Predators.
Both teams are part of the restructured Arena Football League, which seems to be regaining its footing after emerging from bankruptcy in 2009.
Brad Graves, marketing director of Spectrum TV in Jacksonville, said he came up with the concept of the Twitter-feed billboards.
“An advertising company such as ClearChannel Outdoor to a point needs to allow competitive advertising,” Graves said. “But it’s about money, first and foremost. They won’t say it, but it’s about the Magic and Disney spending more money than the Jacksonville Sharks were spending.”
ClearChannel spokesman Craig Swygert did not return a phone call or email seeking comment Thursday.

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/field_and_street/2011/06/clearchannel-switches-off-sharks-fans.html?page=all

[JagFan07]

Anyone know if Clear Channel owns the Billboards the predators bought back in April?

[tufsu1]

I do not believe so...but even if they did, there is a big difference between a billbaord with text provided by a team and one with tweets from who knows where

[duvaldude08]

Hey they cant take what they dish out. They are so concerned about negative comments about their team and city, but they made them about ours. Next time they will sit down and shut up. Dont start something that you cant finish. They are such wimps. We didnt cry when they called us rednecks

[JagFan07]

tufsu, I was actually wondering if they had a double standard. You know on one side saying

[ClearChannel] said we don’t like fans ripping Orlando or Disney or Dwight Howard

then on the other allowing

Jacksonville Sucks. See You Rednecks April 30. Love the Orlando Predators.

As for the issue of live tweets, they were filtering through moderators. I am sure the contract probably had a provision for what would be allowed. Clear Channel probably missed out on a huge revenue generator. I could see where this could have been a huge hit.

[JagFan07]

Looks like the predators used the Daily Billboards owned by B&S Outdoor.

[duvaldude08]

tufsu, I was actually wondering if they had a double standard. You know on one side saying

[ClearChannel] said we don’t like fans ripping Orlando or Disney or Dwight Howard

then on the other allowing

Jacksonville Sucks. See You Rednecks April 30. Love the Orlando Predators.

As for the issue of live tweets, they were filtering through moderators. I am sure the contract probably had a provision for what would be allowed. Clear Channel probably missed out on a huge revenue generator. I could see where this could have been a huge hit.

It is a double standard as usual. You know that in Florida it is ok to trash Jacksonville, but you dare not speak anything negative of Tampa, Orlando or Miami. Thats just unheard of. 

[Ocklawaha]

I tend to agree, yet the other cities are vulnerable.

I mean really?

Miami - "Si habla Espanol"
Orlando - the town whos one claim to fame is vermon.
Tampa - Someone left off the "x"
St. Petersburg - The last resort


OCKLAWAHA