The Jacksonville Jaguars

[Tacachale]

NICE.

[blizz01]

Can't wait!

[InnerCityPressure]

Side note - Bold City Brigade has almost 1000 rabid Jag fans traveling to the Oct 11 game in Tampa.  It's crazy to see this once-apathetic fan base  really take ownership and give a good face to Jacksonville on a national level.  This is all happening in the midst of one of the worst 5 year stretches in football history.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Side note - Bold City Brigade has almost 1000 rabid Jag fans traveling to the Oct 11 game in Tampa.  It's crazy to see this once-apathetic fan base  really take ownership and give a good face to Jacksonville on a national level.  This is all happening in the midst of one of the worst 5 year stretches in football history.

May god have mercy on the rest of the NFL when we start winning. 

[menace1069]

Side note - Bold City Brigade has almost 1000 rabid Jag fans traveling to the Oct 11 game in Tampa.  It's crazy to see this once-apathetic fan base  really take ownership and give a good face to Jacksonville on a national level.  This is all happening in the midst of one of the worst 5 year stretches in football history.

May god have mercy on the rest of the NFL when we start winning. 

The Jags fans will come out in droves. "I knew we could do it." Ummm, what?

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Side note - Bold City Brigade has almost 1000 rabid Jag fans traveling to the Oct 11 game in Tampa.  It's crazy to see this once-apathetic fan base  really take ownership and give a good face to Jacksonville on a national level.  This is all happening in the midst of one of the worst 5 year stretches in football history.

May god have mercy on the rest of the NFL when we start winning. 

The Jags fans will come out in droves. "I knew we could do it." Ummm, what?

No doubt.  There will be an instantaneous waiting list in the 10's of thousands for season tickets once the, "I'll buy if/when" fans are finally on board.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Side note - Bold City Brigade has almost 1000 rabid Jag fans traveling to the Oct 11 game in Tampa.  It's crazy to see this once-apathetic fan base  really take ownership and give a good face to Jacksonville on a national level.  This is all happening in the midst of one of the worst 5 year stretches in football history.

The fan base has never been apathetic or maybe wrong choice of words. The team on the field has been a different story. Its good to see though groups like BCB and Teal street hooligans form.

[edjax]

Side note - Bold City Brigade has almost 1000 rabid Jag fans traveling to the Oct 11 game in Tampa.  It's crazy to see this once-apathetic fan base  really take ownership and give a good face to Jacksonville on a national level.  This is all happening in the midst of one of the worst 5 year stretches in football history.

They just announced that Tampa has opened up an additional block of 200 seats. These group discounted seats are not just open to BCB members now. Open to all Jags fans if you use the proper code when purchasing tix online. At least that is my understanding.

[InnerCityPressure]

The fan base has never been apathetic or maybe wrong choice of words. The team on the field has been a different story. Its good to see though groups like BCB and Teal street hooligans form.

ap·a·thet·ic     apəˈTHedik/      adjective
showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern.  not giving enough of a shit to show up to games.

I'm pretty sure that accurately describes Jacksonville circa 2008.

[Keith-N-Jax]

No it doesn't professor Xavier, since jags have pretty much ranked in the mids 20`s in attendance, they've done pretty well. The team sucked, were you expecting 75 thousand for a sub .500 team?

[KenFSU]

The fan base has never been apathetic or maybe wrong choice of words. The team on the field has been a different story. Its good to see though groups like BCB and Teal street hooligans form.

ap·a·thet·ic     apəˈTHedik/      adjective
showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern.  not giving enough of a shit to show up to games.

I'm pretty sure that accurately describes Jacksonville circa 2008.

NO WAY.

Not giving enough of a shit to show up to games in 2008? Come on, man. Do you remember Jacksonville in 2008? We were fighting and clawing just to save our homes and hang on to our jobs during the worst recession of our lifetimes. Jacksonville was hit 15th hardest in the country. Unemployment climbed from 4.4% to over 10% in the blink of an eye. I know, I was laid off myself, losing sleep not knowing when the next paycheck would come. In times like that, people are absolutely justified in not making the NFL or any other ultimately frivolous, overpriced entertainment a priority.

God knows the NFL didn't make the fans a priority during the recession. The Jaguars had the gal to raise ticket prices in 2008, despite the recession, and despite fielding a dull 5-11 team. And the NFL refused to loosen the blackout policy when fans across the country couldn't afford tickets because of the economic downturn. It was an inexcusable slap to the face to the hard-hit blue collar fans that had made the NFL what it is today.

To add salt in the wound, the L.A. rumors became daily fodder throughout the national sports media, and Wayne Weaver himself said the team wouldn't be sustainable in Jacksonville if people didn't start coming to the stadium. The entire thing caused a lot of people to basically say, "*F*ck the NFL, and f*ck the Jags." I'm the biggest Jags fan out there, but I don't blame anyone for feeling that way.

In a small market like Jacksonville in particular, external factors are always going to impact ticket sales and revenue. It's the NFL and the Jaguars' responsibility to create a game day value proposition where the value of the overall experience outweighs all the actual and external costs associated with going.

The NFL is a business. In the business world, if my company doesn't produce sales, I blame my marketing team. I blame my sales force. I blame my product. It's the rational thing to do. I don't point the finger at my prospects for "not giving enough of a shit" to buy my product, or not being enthusiastic enough about my offer.

Any apathy about the Jags up through 2012 falls directly at the feet of Wayne Weaver. Great guy, he's done a lot for the community, and we really owe him a debt of gratitude for bringing the Jaguars and Super Bowl to Jacksonville. But he refused to spend, hired the wrong people, and 90% of his marketing efforts were reactive rather than proactive. Simply put, in the later years, he ran the Jaguars like a regional team that was satisfied to forego star players and settle for .500 records. He was the epitome of apathy.

Contrast Weaver with Shad Khan. Our franchise and our fanbase have been energized in recent years from the top-down. Shad Khan has nearly done the impossible with the Jaguars. The Jaguars didn't even have a President under Weaver after Paul Harden left, and Khan opened up his checkbook and brought in Mark Lamping, who oversaw the construction of MetLife stadium in New York. He vetted a GM that has given the Jaguars three straight "A" drafts, while Wayne Weaver was desperately trying to give Gene Smith an extension before selling the team. Khan's turned the gameday experience on it side, transforming an aging stadium into one of the best places in the world to watch sports. The Jags have finally made a splash in free agency. The team has gone from being a local franchise to an international brand.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

It's the Jaguars responsibility to give fans a reason to attend games.

Jacksonville isn't stupid.

When we're being offered a great product, we respond in droves.

And when we're being sold a bill of goods, we rightfully shift our discretionary income in another direction.

[Tacachale]

^Well put, sir.

[menace1069]

The fan base has never been apathetic or maybe wrong choice of words. The team on the field has been a different story. Its good to see though groups like BCB and Teal street hooligans form.

ap·a·thet·ic     apəˈTHedik/      adjective
showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern.  not giving enough of a shit to show up to games.

I'm pretty sure that accurately describes Jacksonville circa 2008.

NO WAY.

Not giving enough of a shit to show up to games in 2008? Come on, man. Do you remember Jacksonville in 2008? We were fighting and clawing just to save our homes and hang on to our jobs during the worst recession of our lifetimes. Jacksonville was hit 15th hardest in the country. Unemployment climbed from 4.4% to over 10% in the blink of an eye. I know, I was laid off myself, losing sleep not knowing when the next paycheck would come. In times like that, people are absolutely justified in not making the NFL or any other ultimately frivolous, overpriced entertainment a priority.

God knows the NFL didn't make the fans a priority during the recession. The Jaguars had the gal to raise ticket prices in 2008, despite the recession, and despite fielding a dull 5-11 team. And the NFL refused to loosen the blackout policy when fans across the country couldn't afford tickets because of the economic downturn. It was an inexcusable slap to the face to the hard-hit blue collar fans that had made the NFL what it is today.

To add salt in the wound, the L.A. rumors became daily fodder throughout the national sports media, and Wayne Weaver himself said the team wouldn't be sustainable in Jacksonville if people didn't start coming to the stadium. The entire thing caused a lot of people to basically say, "*F*ck the NFL, and f*ck the Jags." I'm the biggest Jags fan out there, but I don't blame anyone for feeling that way.

In a small market like Jacksonville in particular, external factors are always going to impact ticket sales and revenue. It's the NFL and the Jaguars' responsibility to create a game day value proposition where the value of the overall experience outweighs all the actual and external costs associated with going.

The NFL is a business. In the business world, if my company doesn't produce sales, I blame my marketing team. I blame my sales force. It's the rational thing to do. I don't point the finger at my prospects for "not giving enough of a shit" to buy my product, or not being enthusiastic enough about my offer.

Any apathy about the Jags up through 2012 falls directly at the feet of Wayne Weaver. Great guy, he's done a lot for the community, and we really owe him a debt of gratitude for bringing the Jaguars and Super Bowl to Jacksonville. But he refused to spend, hired the wrong people, and 90% of his marketing efforts were reactive rather than proactive. Simply put, in the later years, he ran the Jaguars like a regional team that was satisfied to forego star players and settle for .500 records. He was the epitome of apathy.

Contrast Weaver with Shad Khan. Our franchise and our fanbase have been energized in recent years from the top-down. Shad Khan has nearly done the impossible with the Jaguars. The Jaguars didn't even have a President under Weaver after Paul Harden left, and Khan opened up his checkbook and brought in Mark Lamping, who oversaw the construction of MetLife stadium in New York. He vetted a GM that has given the Jaguars three straight "A" drafts, while Wayne Weaver was desperately trying to give Gene Smith an extension before selling the team. Khan's turned the gameday experience on it side, transforming an aging stadium into one of the best places in the world to watch sports. The Jags have finally made a splash in free agency. The team has gone from being a local franchise to an international brand.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

It's the Jaguars responsibility to give fans a reason to attend games.

Jacksonville isn't stupid.

When we're being offered a great product, we respond in droves.

And when we're being sold a bill of goods, we rightfully shift our discretionary income in another direction.

I like it!!

[ErikSetzer]

Long post, but I like the conclusion it comes to, especially the positive view of where the Jaguars are heading (not just on the field).  With season tickets, they're making the deal even sweeter.  Last year, in addition to the usual "Teal Deals" booklet, I also got extras like a year's subscription to ShopRunner; a subscription to watch NFL games online, even after the game aired and from different angles (I forgot the name of the program); access to various events.  Might have been more, I don't remember.  But basically, I'm now getting to see a team that's had the money and effort put into it to get back into the competition, at a stadium that's had some upgrades that make the games really fun to see, and I also get a bunch of goodies on the side that aren't just cheap fodder.  Being a serious Jags fan, I could still enjoy going to games in 2009 and 2010 (my first game was in 2008, boss took me and another coworker to see the Vikings game, which was a disaster), but they are a lot better now.  Heck, even the losses still feel better.

For the folks who didn't go to a game last year, it wasn't just the addition of the video boards and pools and cabanas.  They had a DJ (and dancers until someone complained) up by the cabanas.  They got a sideline reporter (and not a "no-name" person, either) who would show up on the boards during breaks with brief interviews with players or coaches, plus a booth show with Fred Taylor and someone else (I feel bad forgetting his name at the moment).  There were also new video strips and smaller boards installed around the stadium.  They had a lot of fun with videos showing up for 3-and-out's, third down on defense, "Lock Down the 'Bank," and some creative videos such as a Game of Thrones intro style video done with Jacksonville and Jaguars players, and my personal favorite, "Bortles Kombat."  Toss in the other games being shown on the corner video boards, and it makes for a lot better experience.

I have to say, though, with all the positivity in that post, I'm surprised the Facebook post that brought me here only quoted some of the negative stuff.  I'd rather focus on the positives.

[InnerCityPressure]

The fan base has never been apathetic or maybe wrong choice of words. The team on the field has been a different story. Its good to see though groups like BCB and Teal street hooligans form.

ap·a·thet·ic     apəˈTHedik/      adjective
showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern.  not giving enough of a shit to show up to games.

I'm pretty sure that accurately describes Jacksonville circa 2008.

NO WAY.

Not giving enough of a shit to show up to games in 2008? Come on, man. Do you remember Jacksonville in 2008? We were fighting and clawing just to save our homes and hang on to our jobs during the worst recession of our lifetimes. Jacksonville was hit 15th hardest in the country. Unemployment climbed from 4.4% to over 10% in the blink of an eye. I know, I was laid off myself, losing sleep not knowing when the next paycheck would come. In times like that, people are absolutely justified in not making the NFL or any other ultimately frivolous, overpriced entertainment a priority.

God knows the NFL didn't make the fans a priority during the recession. The Jaguars had the gal to raise ticket prices in 2008, despite the recession, and despite fielding a dull 5-11 team. And the NFL refused to loosen the blackout policy when fans across the country couldn't afford tickets because of the economic downturn. It was an inexcusable slap to the face to the hard-hit blue collar fans that had made the NFL what it is today.

To add salt in the wound, the L.A. rumors became daily fodder throughout the national sports media, and Wayne Weaver himself said the team wouldn't be sustainable in Jacksonville if people didn't start coming to the stadium. The entire thing caused a lot of people to basically say, "*F*ck the NFL, and f*ck the Jags." I'm the biggest Jags fan out there, but I don't blame anyone for feeling that way.

In a small market like Jacksonville in particular, external factors are always going to impact ticket sales and revenue. It's the NFL and the Jaguars' responsibility to create a game day value proposition where the value of the overall experience outweighs all the actual and external costs associated with going.

The NFL is a business. In the business world, if my company doesn't produce sales, I blame my marketing team. I blame my sales force. I blame my product. It's the rational thing to do. I don't point the finger at my prospects for "not giving enough of a shit" to buy my product, or not being enthusiastic enough about my offer.

Any apathy about the Jags up through 2012 falls directly at the feet of Wayne Weaver. Great guy, he's done a lot for the community, and we really owe him a debt of gratitude for bringing the Jaguars and Super Bowl to Jacksonville. But he refused to spend, hired the wrong people, and 90% of his marketing efforts were reactive rather than proactive. Simply put, in the later years, he ran the Jaguars like a regional team that was satisfied to forego star players and settle for .500 records. He was the epitome of apathy.

Contrast Weaver with Shad Khan. Our franchise and our fanbase have been energized in recent years from the top-down. Shad Khan has nearly done the impossible with the Jaguars. The Jaguars didn't even have a President under Weaver after Paul Harden left, and Khan opened up his checkbook and brought in Mark Lamping, who oversaw the construction of MetLife stadium in New York. He vetted a GM that has given the Jaguars three straight "A" drafts, while Wayne Weaver was desperately trying to give Gene Smith an extension before selling the team. Khan's turned the gameday experience on it side, transforming an aging stadium into one of the best places in the world to watch sports. The Jags have finally made a splash in free agency. The team has gone from being a local franchise to an international brand.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

It's the Jaguars responsibility to give fans a reason to attend games.

Jacksonville isn't stupid.

When we're being offered a great product, we respond in droves.

And when we're being sold a bill of goods, we rightfully shift our discretionary income in another direction.

Exactly.  Fans were apathetic BECAUSE of all of these things.  We had a losing organization not trying to get better.  Now, we are a losing organization doing everything it can to get better.  That is something that people can get behind.  Jag fans are bonding in a way I haven't experienced before (I've been here since '06).  I think it is doing wonders for the city and the nation is taking notice.