The Jacksonville Jaguars

Wacca Pilatka · January 18, 2012, 08:38:24 AM

FYI, the Bulls were named for Fred Bullard, the majority owner of the team. And their uniform was intended to incorporate one color each from Florida State, Florida, and Georgia.

duvaldude08 · January 18, 2012, 08:58:52 AM

Quote from: Wacca Pilatka on January 18, 2012, 08:38:24 AM
FYI, the Bulls were named for Fred Bullard, the majority owner of the team. And their uniform was intended to incorporate one color each from Florida State, Florida, and Georgia.

Now aint that bout some BULL shit LOL We could could have satisfied ALL college fans in Jax with that! What a miss Jags!

LOL

Tacachale · January 18, 2012, 09:04:15 AM

As for keeping the name, I doubt the NFL would have gone for that. There was a lot of bad blood between the leagues, and the NFL's monopoly and their largely successful defense of it is what took down the USFL. There's no way the NFL would have wanted to pay tribute to what they saw as a minor league nuisance.

On the up side, Jax's support of the team was one of the factors the NFL looked at in determining to grant us the franchise.

But yeah, the idea that we don't support the NFL or football has always been a myth.

copperfiend · January 18, 2012, 09:13:37 AM

Especially after the Trump/USFL lawsuit, there is no way they would have used a name or logo from that league in the NFL.

Wacca Pilatka · January 18, 2012, 09:16:20 AM

I'm glad we have the name Jaguars (alliteration, unique in U.S. pro sports, connection to the history of breeding jaguars at the zoo), but the Bulls had one of the better looking color palettes and uniforms in the USFL. If I'm not mistaken, they were the first pro or college football team to have a logo that wrapped fully around the helmet. The color streaks behind the bull head interconnected on the back of the helmet.

Many of the other logos and uniforms in the USFL looked minor league to me. I often refer to the Texans as having a USFL uniform.

Wacca Pilatka · January 18, 2012, 09:17:55 AM

Also on the subject of the Bulls - had the USFL gone to a fall schedule in 1986 as intended, the Bulls would have merged with the Denver Gold, who would've had no chance of competing head to head with the Broncos, and the combined team was projected to be one of the strongest in the league. Also, Jacksonville was slated to be the host city for the USFL championship game that year.

Wacca Pilatka · January 18, 2012, 09:21:33 AM

Going back to Duvaldude's point, the USFL really can be credited with opening the NFL's eyes to the fact that it needed to add more teams in the South due to football passion and regional growth. The strongest franchises in the league, in terms of fan support, were the Bulls, the Tampa Bay Bandits (a good team on the field with a party atmosphere in the stands, and outdrawing the then-terrible Buccaneers), the Memphis Showboats, and the Birmingham Stallions. Memphis and Birmingham were talked of as potential NFL cities for a while too, though neither has a remotely acceptable stadium.

blizz01 · January 18, 2012, 09:32:32 AM

Lots of similarities between the original Jaguars helmet design & the Bulls helmet. I always thought that Jaguar (the auto manufacturer) missed out on some inherently "free" marketing with this franchise. Seemed like a no brainer for the original stadium naming rights - or at least heavy sponsorship. I suppose that they still got thier name out there with the threat of lawsuit specific to the logo design. $:-\$

duvaldude08 · January 18, 2012, 10:37:25 AM

Quote from: blizz01 on January 18, 2012, 09:32:32 AM
Lots of similarities between the original Jaguars helmet design & the Bulls helmet. I always thought that Jaguar (the auto manufacturer) missed out on some inherently "free" marketing with this franchise. Seemed like a no brainer for the original stadium naming rights - or at least heavy sponsorship. I suppose that they still got thier name out there with the threat of lawsuit specific to the logo design. $:-\$

That has always baffled me as well. Now to be honest, the original logo was butt ugly and Im glad we have to change it. But Ive always wondered why they never jumped on naming rights for us. As much as Jaguar has been struggling for a long time, I would think the idea of having ur name on a brand new stadium ( at the time) that would be seen by the nation, would have been a no brainer. Does anybody know if Weaver ever talked to them about it?

Tacachale · January 18, 2012, 11:08:04 AM

^They did talk to them. They weren't interested in the title sponsorship but they did buy a smaller sponsorship to be the "luxury car of the Jacksonville Jaguars" or some such thing. I don't know if they still have it.

blizz01 · January 18, 2012, 12:22:18 PM

Woulda coulda shoulda - a couple of new XJs would look nice in the mezzanines of the East & West clubs. I know the Benz logo dresses up the Superdome quite nicely now.

I-10east · January 18, 2012, 02:25:00 PM

As far as stadium naming rights, local companies are the way to go unless you want 'musical chairs namegame' every five years. Don't think for a second that just because the car company is named Jaguar that naming rights would've been guaranteed to be there for a long time just because the team's name is the Jaguars; The Jags did it right with a burgeoning company, the largest FL bank that's based right here in Jax.

duvaldude08 · January 18, 2012, 02:39:45 PM

Quote from: I-10east on January 18, 2012, 02:25:00 PM
As far as stadium naming rights, local companies are the way to go unless you want 'musical chairs namegame' every five years. Don't think for a second that just because the car company is named Jaguar that naming rights would've been guaranteed to be there for a long time just because the team's name is the Jaguars; The Jags did it right with a burgeoning company, the largest FL bank that's based right here in Jax.

Totally agree with ya! I was more referring to when we first got the team. That would really have helped "little" Jacksonville get their name out their. But I agree with going with locals companies. Everbank was the perfect choice.

Wacca Pilatka · January 18, 2012, 02:59:33 PM

I'd imagine Jaguar might not have as much interest in putting its name on a stadium because I believe Jaguars sell in much lower volumes than some of the other luxury cars like Mercedes. I'd check Wikipedia on this, but...

duvaldude08 · January 18, 2012, 03:04:18 PM

Quote from: Wacca Pilatka on January 18, 2012, 02:59:33 PM
I'd imagine Jaguar might not have as much interest in putting its name on a stadium because I believe Jaguars sell in much lower volumes than some of the other luxury cars like Mercedes. I'd check Wikipedia on this, but...

Yeah they are not big seller's. It could be because they NEVER change the body of their cars. The 2011 is one of the first models Ive seen that I actually like. But that's whole nother subject.