BUY JAGS TICKETS!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shwaz]

Agreed.

Back to the topic of ticket prices, here's some from around the league that would send the some of our "fans" to the grave:

$100K for a PSL at the new cowboys stadium... just for the right to pay $340 per seat - per game
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/112907dnmetseasontickets.2bd58bf.html

How about $1000 in Pittsburgh for that nosebleed seat that would cost you $39 here JMS?!

http://www.stubhub.com/pittsburgh-steelers-tickets/pittsburgh-steelers-season-tickets-heinz-field-771172/

[cdb]

Another side note - WE HAVE THE BEST MASCOT IN THE NFL - BY FAR.
[/quote]

And they took away a lot the he can do in the last few years with not being able to go on the field even in the end zone. Supposedly another teams coach complained about it. I think he is hilarious and from what I heard he makes the most income out of any other mascot in the league.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Without a doubt our Mascot is the best. I know times are tough, but most people should be able to put away a few dollars each check. If you want to sit front row you pay front row prices. I have sat just about everywhere and those nose bleeds seat are not that bad. If you care about you team you'll sit anywhere. Go Jags.

[aaapolito]

I moved to Jacksonville 2 years ago and I just bought a half pack of tickets.  The half pack is a great deal because you only pay $39/ game in the 400's!  If you like football, then it's really not a bad deal.  There's just not much out there that you can do for $39.  BUY JAGS TICKETS!

[A-Finnius]

I still find it hard to believe people think the preseason will dictate the regular season. It's just plain laughable.

Thank you ReedNavy!... Detroit went 4-0 in preseason play last year.  Does anyone know how many games they won during the regular season?

[ProjectMaximus]

Thank you ReedNavy!... Detroit went 4-0 in preseason play last year.  Does anyone know how many games they won during the regular season?

hAHa. But they're gonna make the playoffs this year. It was guaranteed.

[Wacca Pilatka]

I moved to Jacksonville 2 years ago and I just bought a half pack of tickets.  The half pack is a great deal because you only pay $39/ game in the 400's!  If you like football, then it's really not a bad deal.  There's just not much out there that you can do for $39.  BUY JAGS TICKETS!

The half pack is a great deal, and the Jags offer layaway and installment programs for season ticket packages as well.

[Keith-N-Jax]

I still find it hard to believe people think the preseason will dictate the regular season. It's just plain laughable.

Thank you ReedNavy!... Detroit went 4-0 in preseason play last year.  Does anyone know how many games they won during the regular season?

I dont think people were expecting that pathetic performance either on Monday night so I can see why some were a little ticked. Lets see what happens Sat night.

[KenFSU]

I love the Jags, but let's get real here. Even with some of the lowest ticket prices in the league, we're still talking over $50 for the worst seat in the house.

No, we're not.  Tickets start at $39.  I realize that's still substantial, but it's a good bit less than over $50.  (I mention that not to be corrective or anything, but because I think there may be some misconceptions about the cost of the tickets themselves.  I know there are other game costs like parking and concessions.)

And I'd add that the "worst seat in the house" at JMS is still a GOOD seat.  The lines of sight and gameday experience at JMS are fantastic no matter where you sit.  (I know because I have those $39 seats...)  My dad attends several Redskins games a year and that stadium can't touch JMS.  Steeper, worse sight lines, some obstructed views, significantly worse video boards and score boards, worse sound system, much more obnoxious fans, no entertaining and death-defying mascot. 

I think that's a little unfair though to say that tickets start at $39. While technically correct, in order to get $39 tickets, you have to buy a half pack starting at $200 per ticket. Ticketmaster doesn't list a single ticket under $50 for any single game. With the Ticketmaster fee and luxury of printing my own ticket at home, we're talking closer to $60 per single seat.

Like I said in the original post, I love the Jags, and having been to NFL games in at least five stadiums, I fully agree that we've got awesome sight lines even in the nosebleeds. But that's a lot of freaking money for perhaps the majority of people in this market. The fact that most, if not every, home game is looking to be blacked out this season seems to validate that fact. Comparing ticket prices in Jax to those of much larger metros with much more money floating around is apples and oranges.

I really wasn't looking for an argument, and that link really did give me a much greater appreciation for the Weaver's contributions in NE Florida, but I just get tired of people, mostly coworkers, grilling other people to the effect of "How many Jags tickets have you bought for this season" with the same tone they would use to ask "How many starving children have you sponsored this year?" There are a MILLION causes worth supporting Jacksonville. The Symphony. The museums. Local theaters and restaurants.

And there a million reasons to knock our fellow Jax citizens.

I just don't find a perceived lack of support for the local football team to be a particularly good one.

Yes, NFL players risk their bodies -- even their lives -- every day at work, but so do police officers, firemen, coal workers, road surveyors, construction workers, etc. I do think they deserve to be making a boatload of money for the sheer fact that they are bringing so much revenue in, but TV rights alone for the NFL are so astronomical that there's no excuse for pricing out the blue collar crowd. 10,000 tickets priced at $20 each are going to earn more than 10,000 unsold seats.

My problem with NFL ticket prices, even in a market like Jacksonville, is that they are incredibly exclusionary. My wife taught at Norwood Elementary last year in a really low-income area. When I would stop by to help in the classroom, I met some of the biggest Jags fans that I have ever met. To most of these kids, the idea of actually going to a Jags game is a pipe dream that will probably never be realized. When I'd mention that I was going to the game, they would react with the same sense of wonder and awe as if I had just paid an afternoon visit to the North Pole to meet Santa. That's really unfortunate, and makes it hard for me to view as Jags as fully belonging to the community when a trip to the stadium feels more like a good-old-boys reunion than a true reflection of Jacksonville.

It's less a problem with our situation here than with major sports in general. To me, professional sports peaked in the 1980's. Watch ESPN classic and take a look at the crowds. They were so fantastically working class. Venues like Chicago Stadium, Boston Garden, Soldier Field, and Fenway Park were such great reflections of their respective cities. And then came with the fancy mega stadiums of the 90's (United Center, Fleet Center, etc.) with their luxury suites, state-of-the-art facilities, and soaring ticket prices, and professional sporting events became out of the reach of the heart and soul of most cities and were instead transformed into playgrounds for the white collars and corporate crowds. To me -- and again, this is just my personal opinion -- that's something not worth going out of my way to support quite as much.

$100,000 for the right to buy seats in Indy? $1,000 for a ticket in Pittsburgh. I would never pay that much, but if people are willing to, more power to them. Like I said though, if tickets aren't moving, I think it would be fantastic to price them at a level where some of the less affluent in Jacksonville -- like the aforementioned north side families -- might actually be able to go. As a business, I'd hope the Jags would recognize one of the basic principals of Economics 101 -- Supply and Demand. A million dollars, a thousand dollars, a hundred dollars, whatever. If they aren't selling, than they are probably priced too high for current market conditions.

With that long rant aside -- again, more blowing off steam due to several obnoxious people at work who feel I should somehow be ashamed of myself for holding off on tickets until I see how the team looks -- I do wish the Jags much success this year. I love watching them play, I agree on the mascot, and would LOVE to see them be successful in Jax for decades to come, but I do think the issue is far less black and white than the city not supporting the team.

[Shwaz]

Ken, imagine how many inner-city kids want for their entire childhood and into their adult life to go to a Steelers, Cowboys or Packers game? Do those teams offer entire sections like the "Honor Rows" or "Family Fun Zone"?

It was only a couple years ago you could buy you're kids school lunches from Winn Dixie and get tickets to the game.

The Weavers do more than any other ownership to provide a chance for everyone to see an NFL game. I think you're missing the big picture as far as ticket prices go too. They're selling them for almost operation cost. There is no more wiggle room in pricing. They can't sell them under cost just to raise them again next year. Instead they offer all the other packages and lowered prices. Family meals for $7 / 7 game Half Packs / 5 game half packs / Payment Installments etc. etc.

Personally I've saved $160 over the past month playing golf at one of the nicer courses in town... and I still have another $160 in coupons to use.

The NFL gameday is a premium experience. It's arguable the highest level of entertainment offered in our city and it's priced extremely reasonable for the product that it is. It's time to start realizing that and stop blaming the team.

[Wacca Pilatka]

While it certainly would be nice if tickets could be sold for $20--I think at one point early in Jaguars history they were available in a few sections for $13?--I am sure that NFL pricing policies prohibit offering certain unsold tickets at a discount.  Also, the reason the Jaguars have to price where they do is that in order to participate in revenue sharing--the reason small-market teams can exist and compete--they must achieve a certain level of revenue that would be unattainable with lower-priced tickets.

It is unfortunate that many of the people with the greatest football passion in the market are priced out of going to games.  But the Jaguars do make an effort to provide that opportunity in the form of the Honor Rows tickets (given to children from high-risk environments who have earned them through their good school performance and behavior) and the USO section.  And there are fans who donate tickets specifically to the Jaguars Foundation, which will transfer the tickets to underprivileged kids and their families.

I don't think it's reasonable to say there isn't a sufficient number of fans in the market who can afford to go to the games, though I hate the fact that many who care deeply are priced out, which the current economy of course exacerbates.  The Jaguars sold 61,000 or more tickets to every game between 2005-2008.  Despite all the hubbub over blackouts in 2007, even the three blacked-out games were near sellouts other than the Atlanta one.  Surely some people have dropped their tickets due to the economy, but I suspect there are a larger number with the means to attend who only support the team when it is winning.  And I say that not to say the city doesn't support the team, because that's one of the last things I would ever say about Jacksonville and I perpetually have to defend it against that charge.  The Jaguars' very high TV ratings (4th best of any market in the league, I think?) are evidence of the city's very strong interest in the team.  There's just a lot of fans with an "I'll only buy when they win" mentality.  I don't mean to be critical of that or start one of those "only if you buy all the time are you a true fan" debates that pollute the jaguars.com message boards constantly.  I just think it's not accurate to say the city can't afford to support the team, or that the team does not make enough of an effort to make its tickets available, because it's doing more than any other team in any pro sport to make itself accessible.

[blizz01]

So, I was driving down I-4 on the outskirts of downtown Orlando this morning.  Within five miles I passed two billboards that REALLY caught my attention: The first one promoting the Miami Dolphins & the second promoting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - both advertising ticket availability and/or a great game day experience.  Given the Jag's lackluster ticket sales as of late, I think everyone could assume my next question .......On the flip side of that, I have, in the past, attended several Magic games in Orlando & do know several people in Jax who have or have had season tickets to their games - have we forgotten our neighbors?  Also, never one to fully understand the complexity of the NFL empire, it is curious to me as to what the rules/legalities are specific to franchises engaging in competitive advertising within a "fringe" city like Orlando, which is indeed a Jaguars market as mandated by the NFL (albeit secondary).  Talk about kicking us us while we're down!  A prime example was in '05 when the Dolphins played the Bucs & it was not televised in the Orlando area because the local CBS affiliate was "forced" by the NFL to air the Jaguars game which was scheduled concurrently.  Out of sight, out of mind - the marketing effort(s) should be so "in your face" right now.  Come on Jags - take off the kid gloves!  Oh, that rascally NFL machine. 

[Keith-N-Jax]

Wow what a way to start on offense. It seemed that everyone stood up the same time the ball was in the air. Much better preformance from last week. Defense is still suspect though, must tighten up. And way too many mistakes, dropped balls, and false starts on offense.  Otherwise a good improvement from last week.

[aj_fresh]

All I have to say is that if you weren't at the game, you would not see Garrard's pass until Sunday morning, assuming you had the NFL network. I couldn't imagine being home tonight listening on the radio and not seeing the pass. Wake up Jacksonville!!!!!

[mtraininjax]

Wake up Jacksonville!!!!!

Its fake football, as was mentioned by another poster Detroit went 4-0 last year and ended up never getting a win the rest of the season. You can see New England go 1-3 in the preseason and still compete for the AFC title. One or two good plays by our QB does not make the season. Last year we lost 3 guys from the O-line in the first game and it set the tone for the season.

If the Jags can get out of September with a winning record, that will be a heckuva accomplishment for this team with so many question marks.