The Jaguars - How Jacksonville Became an NFL City

[ac]

Wakka- I don't think it explained where he got the number from though.  I linked one JBJ article earlier that didn't.

[finehoe]

...the image blow from losing the Jaguars would have ramifications on Jacksonville's ability to attract and retain talented individuals as well as businesses.  Losing the team creates a national perception of the city as being unable to compete, just as gaining the team enhanced its reputation as a city on the rise. 

I agree with this 100%

Throw "redneck" or the opera comment out there and you come off as looking down your nose at football fans and painting them all with the same brush.  (Presumably a red one.)

You are right, and that wasn't my intention. (BTW, I have never been to an opera.)

[Wacca Pilatka]

...the image blow from losing the Jaguars would have ramifications on Jacksonville's ability to attract and retain talented individuals as well as businesses.  Losing the team creates a national perception of the city as being unable to compete, just as gaining the team enhanced its reputation as a city on the rise. 

I agree with this 100%

Throw "redneck" or the opera comment out there and you come off as looking down your nose at football fans and painting them all with the same brush.  (Presumably a red one.)

You are right, and that wasn't my intention. (BTW, I have never been to an opera.)

I apologize to you for overreacting.  Thank you for your passion for Jacksonville.  (I do all I can from long distance...)

[stjr]

Wakka- I don't think it explained where he got the number from though.

Unsubstantiated numbers are standard operating procedure.  Round up the usual suspects. Maybe, start with JTA.  They make up customized numbers all the time.  Multiple books, funky accounting, conflict of interests.  No problem. Then there was the time the mayor overstated the height of the courthouse after looking at the project for his entire term in office.  No telling how many made up numbers fly through the City council.  The "experts" deliver. "Who ya' gonna believe?"  Ghostbusters?

[willydenn]

They also have to do something about their hideous uniforms!  The dumped the only good one they had...the all black ones.  Maybe they could do a helmet similar to the Bengals, but obviously use Jaguar spots instead of tiger stripes?

The T-U had an artist do a concept uniform that had spots on a gold helmet, I think back in 2002 or 2003.  It wasn't pretty.  I've been hunting for an image of it, but can't find it.

Edit:  Here it is.





Still want that helmet?

Oh, and the current uniforms are fine.

Yikes!  That is pretty bad!  The current uni's do suck though...sorry.

[77danj7]

Ooh...I remember them proposing that...that is so hideous!

[urbanlibertarian]

I was one of those 50,000 maniacs in the Gator Bowl when Bob Irsay and Jake Godbold landed in a helicopter on the field.  I remember sending in a check for season tickets in the end zone and getting my money refunded minus a handling fee.  If I remember right we also were used by the Cardinals and the Oilers before they moved.

[ProjectMaximus]

There are two local professional opera companies that have been struggling to get off the ground for some time: Opera Jax and the Jacksonville Lyric Opera. And there have been attempts, in one form or another, to establish a professional group for decades. Of course, theres a better chance of the Jags winning back-to-back Super Bowls than the genre succeeding in NEFL, but just sayin, people are trying...

Back to your regularly-scheduled programming already in progress.

[Wacca Pilatka]

I was one of those 50,000 maniacs in the Gator Bowl when Bob Irsay and Jake Godbold landed in a helicopter on the field.  I remember sending in a check for season tickets in the end zone and getting my money refunded minus a handling fee.  If I remember right we also were used by the Cardinals and the Oilers before they moved.

And the Saints, and the Falcons.

[BridgeTroll]

Three words... Green Bay Packers.  Do you want an NFL franchise or not?  I always hear about the history bah blah... but in the twenties or thirties they were just another team trying to survive.  The community decided that this was important and supported it through taxes and fundraising.  Yep... they are unique today... but they would not be here today unless the citizens of the small city of Green Bay committed to their survival.

So what is it Jacksonville?  You are next in line as smallest.  Are you gonna step up and own the team?  Or are ya gonna let L.A. or some other more glamourous place have the team.  It is your choice... pure and simple.

The Green Bay Packers were founded on August 14, 1919 by Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun.[1] Lambeau solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company. He was given $500 for uniforms and equipment, on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor. Today, "Green Bay Packers" is the oldest team name still in use in the NFL.

The Packers became a professional franchise when they joined the newly formed American Professional Football Association on August 27, 1921. However, financial troubles plagued the team and the franchise had to be forfeited at the end of the season. Curly Lambeau found new backers the next year and regained the franchise for $250. Further troubles threatened to add more debt to the team, but local businessmen, known as the "Hungry Five," got behind the team and formed the Green Bay Football Corporation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Green_Bay_Packers

[urbanjacksonville]

Steve, so you actually DO write posts?! Seriously, this is great and I'm looking forward to the others in the series. I have not taken the time to read through all the comments so if my remark is repetitive ... GOOD because it's important.

I suspect there were people who left comments because they don't value what the Jaguars offer to this city. I also suspect there were those who commented that they love this team and could not imagine Jacksonville without the Jaguars. To the latter group:

Please buy tickets. Buy them, because if you don't there is a good chance we will lose this team.

Finally I would like to wrap up my comment and let everyone know Urban Jacksonville is also publishing a new weekly column on the Jaguars. You can check out the first two weeks worth here. Go Jags!

Hey Jaguars Fans: This is Rebuilding!
http://www.urbanjacksonville.info/2009/11/09/hey-jaguars-fans-this-is-rebuilding/

Defense is the Key to Any Successful Hunt
http://www.urbanjacksonville.info/2009/11/11/defense-is-the-key-to-any-successful-hunt/

[Lunican]

SPORTS PEOPLE; Jacksonville Scouted
Published: Thursday, October 15, 1987

Bud Adams, the owner of the Houston Oilers, paid a visit yesterday with his wife, Nancy, to Jacksonville, Fla., a city that is attempting to woo the Oilers away from their home in the Astrodome. The civic leaders of Jacksonville, the home of the Gator Bowl, gave the Adamses a tour of the city, and the main topic of conversation was a $125.8 million offer from the Jacksonville business community to Adams to move his team. ''It's a very attractive package,'' said Adams. ''That's why I'm over here today. I want to take a good look at your city.''

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/15/sports/sports-people-jacksonville-scouted.html

[Lunican]

PRO FOOTBALL; N.F.L. Expansion Surprise: Jacksonville Jaguars
By FRANK LITSKY,
Published: Wednesday, December 1, 1993

In a totally unexpected move, the National Football League awarded an expansion franchise today to Jacksonville, Fla., a city that only last summer dropped out of the bidding and as recently as a month ago was considered a long shot behind St. Louis and Baltimore.

The new team, named the Jaguars, and Charlotte's Carolina Panthers, voted in five weeks ago, will begin play in 1995 as the N.F.L.'s 29th and 30th teams.

Full Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/01/sports/pro-football-nfl-expansion-surprise-jacksonville-jaguars.html

[stjr]

Lunican, nice re-read.  Interesting to consider where all the parties mentioned are today.  Baltimore and St. Louis finally got their teams.  So did Cleveland and Houston.  LA and Memphis are still waiting.

[mtraininjax]

The citizens will not save the Jags, it will be the same who bought the tickets, small businesses, and the corporations. They are the ones who can afford the seats year in and year out. I'd consider some seats now for a 5-4 team winning on the road. I plan to be at the Buffalo game, to see the Jags go 6-4. I hope it gets more small businesses to buy the seats, just like they did in 1995.