Bashing Jacksonville gets a little old

[thelakelander]

Submitted by Jeff Elliott on August 19, 2010 - 11:23pm

And you wonder why Jacksonville continues to fight a negative perception throughout the NFL?

Jason Cole is an award-winning writer who covered the Miami Dolphins for 15 years at The Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He now lives in Gainesville and works for Yahoo.com. He’s currently about halfway through his excursion around the country visiting each of the NFL sites.

Here, in part, is how he opened his report on the Jaguars.

“Jacksonville might be the worst town in the NFL. The beaches are cool, featuring plenty of funky places to hang out for a beer. But Jacksonville completely lacks identity. There is nothing that defines it. It’s really just a series of housing developments connected by a beltway with I-95 splitting it pretty much down the middle.

“Fortunately, the distinct odor from the paper mills that defined Jacksonville (and Savannah, Ga., to the north) has been cleaned up. But if you’re looking for history and culture, Jacksonville doesn’t have much, aside from a couple of spots where the French, Spanish and English battled over property.”

This is a national report that circulated on Monday.

Now I’ve met Jason before. He’s been through Jacksonville and written stories from here.

Yet there it was this week, Jacksonville, a city that “completely lacks identity.” Right. Because, of course, we don’t have any golf courses, or beach resorts, or museums, or Naval history, or famous running races, or a sports complex, or paradise weather 11 months a year.

No, all those things are probably only found in Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh or a few choice others. Come on, Jason, you’re better than that.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/401949/jeff-elliott/2010-08-19/bashing-jacksonville-gets-little-old

[buckethead]

There seems to be a consensus among sports media pundints that the Jags should be moved elsewhere.

Much like any partisan news outlet (all of them?), we can expect to see the notion that Jax is a substandard city hammered home until the general population agrees.

[CS Foltz]

The Jaguars issue will be self correcting upon succesive 10 win seasons..............8 & 6 and in the playoffs when teams with 9 & 7 don't make it. That was a fluke that required other teams to win or to lose! When the Jaguars become a winning team on a regular basis...........all questions will be answered, but not until!

[fsujax]

This guy lives in Gainesville and has the nerve to speak ill of Jacksonville? give me a break. Obviously he has never seen the great historic neighborhoods our City boast! This kind of crap just aggrevates me to no end.

[simms3]

Here is the thing I have realized about most people: they just don't "get" Jacksonville and frankly I think when people come through here, they are jealous of what we have.  If anyone has seen our older neighborhoods, clearly the downtown (Riverwalk etc), the river, and the beaches, they know that our city has more for amenities and potential than almost any other city in the Lower 48, Miami included.  Our nicer neighborhoods are also exclusive in the fact that you almost have to be raised a certain way to live in, fit in with, and appreciate an Avondale, Ortega, San Marco, PVB, Atlantic Beach, etc and most people don't fit that bill and they are jealous.

You look at Charlotte and Austin, two booming cities that are also the media's current darlings.  One of them is utra-trendy, outdoorsy, ultra-lib if you will, and there are many cool things about Austin, but in reality it's in an ugly part of Texas (let's be honest) and its weather is not the greatest thing since sliced bread.  The media and people build it up because it's easy to move there for your job and get into live music, start riding a bike or kayaking, and become a liberal.  It's very easy and people from all over do it, especially young people.  (Not that those things are bad, but that's really all Austin has besides the university)

Charlotte has NO history left over, barely any old neighborhoods, no old buildings downtown, no grit, etc.  It's a media darling because it's tied to Wall Street without being Wall Street, and it's all so fresh and new and clean.  There aren't old families there and there is no history there, and most people aren't part of old families with history, so they can easily fit in there and relate to the "new" scene.  It's definitely a keeping up with the Joneses and the media has no problem with that scene.  They do have a problem with "established" scenes where people are more subtle and ways of thinking are a little bit older.

Jax on the other hand, whether one has money or not, is old family and old history central.  We may have a lot of people moving here, and excluding those who move to the Southside or certain suburban areas, it takes a certain type of person to move to "our" beaches and any of the neighborhoods lining the river.  Our Cuban population is literally families dating from the 60s and prior and our Jewish population consists of families from the early 1900s who have stayed in Jacksonville.  Everyone here has some sort of history, and people who don't have any family history anywhere can't really relate and people with "new" money certainly aren't comfortable plopping it down in our established neighborhoods where they often stick out like sore thumbs.  Everything Jacksonville is (Conservative, old, established) the media hates and people are jealous of.  I am not saying we need to be stuck in old ways (and biking and being outdoors is actually a great thing, better parks will help with that LoL), but Jacksonville is actually a pretty refined city and people either don't see it and it looks boring to them or they see it and are turned off because they themselves are not as refined as the average person in this city.

Rant over, but I really think that's what it is.  It is so easy for anyone to pack up and move further south to the more "popular" trendy cities in tropical climates and where everyone is so transient and everyone is meeting everyone for the first time and it's one big party or retirement scene, but to move to Jacksonville, you most likely need a few connections and you need to come from a similar background or environment to fit in.  Our city is hardly transient (except with the military and those people always end up moving back here) and while there are 1.35 million people, everyone knows everyone.  It's more like a really large small town.

[uptowngirl]

What is the identity of Jacksonville? I often have people visit, and rack my brain on where to take them to "show off Jacksonville", eventually I give up and realize it really is the gateway to Florida and that is about it- a stop on the way to everywhere else in Florida. Can anyone name one place/thing to go/do that someone would actually fly to Jacksonville for (other than work)?

[simms3]

PS: We really don't need or want people moving to our city who have no appreciation for our history and non-flashy ways of conducting business or living, and we don't need to spend time, effort, and energy convincing people who don't fit in to our city that our city is so great they shouldn't bash it, but should mover here.  I get soo frustrated too when people make fun of Jacksonville, but I am starting to realize our whole city is actually kind of exclusive and many people know they don't belong here, but they wish they did because of the location, the water, the scenery, and the weather.

Many people like to be the "big man" on their street or their block, and Jacksonville is not like that at all.  People here are usually the complete opposite and don't care who is the richest or coolest person on the block, so people with that attitude won't find what they are looking for here.

For the record Atlanta is a pretty similar city people-wise to Jacksonville and it catches about as much grief from the media as we do.  Anything wrong with Atlanta the media will continuously harp on without mentioning any of the positives, and it's probably because they wish they could fit in with Atlanta's ITP society where everyone also knows each other and history is abundant.

[Lunican]

This is what happens when you let 90% of the city turn into sprawl that no one cares about. That is all a visitor will see if they don't take it upon themselves to find the urban core neighborhoods (which they have most likely been warned against doing).

[thelakelander]

^Pretty much.  You can't expect visitors to see the unique things and history this city has to offer when the city itself does not really care or promote them.

[fieldafm]

What is the identity of Jacksonville? I often have people visit, and rack my brain on where to take them to "show off Jacksonville", eventually I give up and realize it really is the gateway to Florida and that is about it- a stop on the way to everywhere else in Florida. Can anyone name one place/thing to go/do that someone would actually fly to Jacksonville for (other than work)?

I've got a pretty standard itinerary I use for out of town friends and/or clients

I'll post it up this weekend.  It's usually pretty interesting.

[finehoe]

Because, of course, we don’t have any golf courses, or beach resorts, or museums, or Naval history, or famous running races, or a sports complex

Golf courses, "famous" running races, and sports complexes are not what give a city its identity.  

paradise weather 11 months a year

Try about 3 months.

I agree the bashing of our fair city gets old, but I think Cole's view isn't too far off the mark, once you get past the "worst town in the NFL" remark.

[fsujax]

^^or a visit to the Town Center....haha

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Damn right Stephen - we'll treat him to a round of golf at the 1st Tee on Golfair, followed by fine dining and drinks at Dave & Buster's and then to cap the night off, we venture back riverside for a nightcap at InCahoots.

[KenFSU]

^Pretty much.  You can't expect visitors to see the unique things and history this city has to offer when the city itself does not really care or promote them.

I completely agree with this.

And I disagree with the poster above who says Jacksonville doesn't need people moving here, or to be perceived as a trendy city. Thinking like that is only going to keep this city stuck in the bizarro 70's time warp it currently finds itself in, which all of our sister cities continue to emerge into mini-global cities. Jacksonville desperately needs an influx of young professionals and corporations. You're never going to get that if you consider the city to be some kind of a walled garden.

It sucks, but the original artlcle is absolutely correct in that Jacksonville has zero national identity aside from the Jaguars. No landmarks or streets that someone out of state would instantly recognize. No distinct local cuisine (no, Lubis does not count). No hot underground music scene. People know the Jaguars, and that's it.

We might have great neighborhoods, cool beaches, and a fascinating history, but if it isn't properly marketed, none of that matters.

That's the bad news.

The good news is, Jacksonville is legit one of the most beautiful cities in the Southeast. This city just has so much potential to be great if only the proper leadership would emerge to take Jacksonville into the 21st century. We've got it all. A beautiful downtown. Great beaches. A good location. Awesome weather. Good existing infrastructure. It shouldn't be as hard as it is. It's just a matter of putting the package together and someone creating a buzz that Jacksonville is the place to be.

[hanjin1]

I can see where some people would say the same stuff as this guy, but what does that have to do with the Jaguars??? This guy lives in the jorts capital of the world and he has time to make fun of Jacksonville. Good luck Jeff you're an idiot, I guess that's why you live in Gainesville. Sorry to all you gator fans.