Jacksonville? When did Jacksonville get a football team?

#1 wins the thread!

#2 I have to agree that was awesome.

I don't get it. Was it a joke? Seemed like a legit question to me.

You guys are awesome! Even a Jax fan like me almost doubled over laughing!

4:

You're right, it's shocking that a team would get its own team instead of stealing somebody else's.

Actually Bob in Jax, I have a question for you and all Jags fans--both of them (okay, I'll stop): Do you worry about the attendance thing? Do you worry they'll leave town? What can be done about it?

I'm a lifelong Colts and Pittsburgh Pirates fan who had no problems with the Colts leaving Balt when the city and local fans did not seem to support them. As a naive teenager 300 miles distant, I was clueless as to the politics and personalities, but I saw an empty stadium and was bothered by it.

As a Pirate fan living in NYC I was outraged that some of their home playoff games in 90-92 were not sold out. If I had more money then, I'd have hopped on a plane, flown in for the game, and flown back home for work the next morning. But local fans couldn't make the effort. Pissed me off. And they were rewarded with 16 years of suckitude as a result. Going on 17.

So when you see seats covered with a tarp at home games, do you shake your head, hide your face in shame, or get angry? If it's angry, is it at the so-called fans, the team, mgmt? I mean, they put out a quality product and have been pretty consistent for a handful of years. It's not their fault Indy and NE have been on unprecedented runs of excellence at the same time. What on earth would establish a fan base that sells out games? Manning's head on a pike? Nude cheerleaders? Del Rio winning a Nobel Prize? Don't say a SB win, because other teams sell out without that, and some teams go decades between SB appearances. Is the cliche true, that offense sells tickets? I wonder how Ravens tickets have sold the past decade (and of course they DID win a SB in there).... Anyway, good luck. Just not too much.

Bobman,

I can forgive you being clueless 25 years ago -- what is amazing is that despite all the reportage, "personalities" and evidence to the contrary, you still cling to the phony "they didn't supprot the team" line.

Irsay did everything he could to destroy the franchise while it was in Baltimore, so he could move it -- fans are supposed to buy and unswervingly support a product that is produced entirely in bad faith? Interestingly enough, one of the cities he courted was Jacksonville.

There's a wonderful way to address your questions - it's called reading. Read John Steadman, the acknowledged dean of NFL writers when he was alive (and no Modell fan), who witnessed much of Irsay's depravity first-hand.

Read the NFL statistics, where you find that the Ravens' attendance has done quite well, thank you - but at least this ownership knows it's making a partnership with the fans and the city - and treats them with some respect. Would that Bob Irsay had ever done the same.

The attendance problem isn't quite so bad as everyone makes it out to be.

First, the tarps. The stadium sat 76,877 which would be the 4th-largest in the league. Jacksonville is somewhere in the 30s in terms of population of the designated market area. It's growing, but it's still one of the smallest NFL cities. The tarps put the stadium in the middle - 19th, I think.

Secondly, the lack of sellouts. You're right, they failed to sell out 3 times last season. But it's not like they're falling 10 or 12 thousand short.

Thirdly, last season was a little bit of a fluke because a large number of 3-year contracts were up. During those intervening seasons, those contract customers did not face ticket increases. Many of them juts couldn't afford the jump from '04 prices to '07 prices. They had more new season ticket holders last year htan the year before, but lost a lot of the previous 3-year customers.

Bottom line is that we are closer to selling out on a season ticket basis than we were last year, or the year before, or the year before. The team has only been here 13 years. Kids who grew up with the Jaguars are just now coming into their first professional jobs. Many, many Jacksonville adults came from somewhere else and so we're fighting their previous NFL allegiance. 13 years isn't a ton of time to build tradition, but the fan base (true fan base) is growing.

So no, I don't truly worry about them leaving for LA. Not any more. There was a time a few seasons ago, where things were contentious between the city & the team. But not any more. This city loves the Jaguars, and anybody who says different is probably just looking at the blackout numbers and assuming.

Well, that's what I get for sleeping in on Saturday. Bobman, Sam pretty well covered :) the attendance issues. No one I know is mad at the tarp situation, since the stadium was built humongous to contain the annual Florida-Georgia game. It is crazy big for any NFL market not named New York City or Washington. Right-sizing the stadium was needed and proper. When the stadium sells out consistently, the covers will remain on.

Currently, the Jaguars have the highest percentage of season ticket holders to metro population in the entire NFL (assuming you include Milwaukee in Green Bay's area). The games that were blacked out last year fell short by only several hundred tickets each game, and these were sold by Sunday. I live here. This city is bonkers over the Jags. This city is also still growing. Season ticket sales are well ahead of last year's pace, and likely to continue. There is no other major league game in town. It's just a matter of time, now, until the relocation rumors will vanish. Wayne Weaver (owner) knew going in that patience was needed, and he was willing to wait. His waiting is about to come to fruition.

Oh, and thanks for the good wishes. One thing I really like about this site is the civility of discourse, a rarity on the internet these days.

Don't forget that the biggest factor in any team relocating is always the stadium; either a lease expiring or a new stadium not being built. Jax has no problems with the stadium other then the naming rights still being up in the air.

I knew when bobman asked the question that the other jaguar.com readers answer the attendance question before I got a chance.

Good job fellas. Jags have the smartest fans in the business