The problem is, there are too many "college minded fans" in this city. I hear it all the time where I work. On Monday mornings they are talking about the college games and don't know what happened in the NFL games other than if the Jaguars won or lost. Quite a few of them will even travel to games that are out of town (Gainsville, Tallahassee), but won't bother to show up to a game in their home town.
When you talk to these people, they usually give an answer regarding college football vs. the NFL with something like "I would rather watch guys trying to be millionaires before they become millionaires".
These people fail to see how much faster the NFL game is over college, and don't appreciate the fact that these (NFL) players are the best in the country. Take the worst NFL team and have them play the "best" college team and it wouldn't even be a game. The NFL team would kill the college team.
I personally remember when the stadium was full, prior to the tarps when the team was winning (late 1990's and early 2000's) and the noise in the stadium was deafening.
When you're fielding a 4-7 team with no known national "stars" (that's changing by the way) against another team with a losing record, you aren't going to get the crowd that you want... period. My prediction is that after a couple of more seasons, tickets will be a little more hard to come by for a home Jaguars game.
Fan base grows weaker with every loss
Quote:The holidays isn't an excuse. The Thanksgiving Day games looked full, even the sorry [BAD WORD REMOVED] Lions. If a ticket holder is going away, give tix to someone.
But, with that loss Sunday, it won't matter what time of year it is.... Tix will be a tougher sell. If they don't show up for possible playoff implications, I don't expect them to when they still have a losing record.
Then there's the socialites that just go to hang in the bud zone to show off their latest leopard print tights. clueless as to what's happening on the field.
You know what? I've tried to sell/give away my tickets when I had to go out of town for work. Even giving them away I had a hard time finding somebody to give them to.
Quote:The problem is, there are too many "college minded fans" in this city. I hear it all the time where I work. On Monday mornings they are talking about the college games and don't know what happened in the NFL games other than if the Jaguars won or lost. Quite a few of them will even travel to games that are out of town (Gainsville, Tallahassee), but won't bother to show up to a game in their home town.
When you talk to these people, they usually give an answer regarding college football vs. the NFL with something like "I would rather watch guys trying to be millionaires before they become millionaires".
These people fail to see how much faster the NFL game is over college, and don't appreciate the fact that these (NFL) players are the best in the country. Take the worst NFL team and have them play the "best" college team and it wouldn't even be a game. The NFL team would kill the college team.
I personally remember when the stadium was full, prior to the tarps when the team was winning (late 1990's and early 2000's) and the noise in the stadium was deafening.
When you're fielding a 4-7 team with no known national "stars" (that's changing by the way) against another team with a losing record, you aren't going to get the crowd that you want... period. My prediction is that after a couple of more seasons, tickets will be a little more hard to come by for a home Jaguars game.
Those 'college' fans are the ones waiting to jump back in board the band wagon if the team would become a winner. Its a loser right now so they don't pay attention.
Quote:I've been of the opinion for years that the most beneficial improvement Khan could make (beyond a decent practice facility...) would be to put some type of retractable cover on that stadium. The benefits of doing this are two fold:
1. if you've ever been in the stadium during the early part of the season and had seats on the east side of it then you know what kind of hellishly hot and unpleasant environment it is. I no longer attend Jags games in person because I can't take the direct sun for very long. With a cover of some sort, even if it were only a tarp like appendage, more people would almost certainly be able/willing to attend. With more fans in attendance at home games on a regular basis, the '12th man' factor would also surely be boosted.
2. I think it could probably be proven that given two stadiums of similar design and capacity, and you covered one of them, the covered stadium would be measurably louder than the uncovered one with the same number of fans present. The reason being that the noise is somewhat reflected back down onto the field by the covering.
Regular Einstein this guy.
Quote:Yeldon started out strong yesterday, but his stats did not wow at all. Had less than 50 yards rushing. We need 2 things desperately in the draft. An elite DE and RB.
He got 9 carries..Are you dumb? Wait don't answer that I already know.
Quote:Then there's the socialites that just go to hang in the bud zone to show off their latest leopard print tights. clueless as to what's happening on the field.
I absolutely can't stand these type of people. I am a die hard, so I am the guy that screams until my voice is gone. Then I start whistling on every 3rd down.....only to look around and notice I am the only one doing it.
Then I look behind me and there are the people that just show off their leopard tights and teal face paint that have no clue what the score is.
Quote:The problem is, there are too many "college minded fans" in this city. I hear it all the time where I work. On Monday mornings they are talking about the college games and don't know what happened in the NFL games other than if the Jaguars won or lost. Quite a few of them will even travel to games that are out of town (Gainsville, Tallahassee), but won't bother to show up to a game in their home town.
When you talk to these people, they usually give an answer regarding college football vs. the NFL with something like "I would rather watch guys trying to be millionaires before they become millionaires".
These people fail to see how much faster the NFL game is over college, and don't appreciate the fact that these (NFL) players are the best in the country. Take the worst NFL team and have them play the "best" college team and it wouldn't even be a game. The NFL team would kill the college team.
I personally remember when the stadium was full, prior to the tarps when the team was winning (late 1990's and early 2000's) and the noise in the stadium was deafening.
When you're fielding a 4-7 team with no known national "stars" (that's changing by the way) against another team with a losing record, you aren't going to get the crowd that you want... period. My prediction is that after a couple of more seasons, tickets will be a little more hard to come by for a home Jaguars game.
I'd say my family falls into this category. We have two season tickets and have been season ticket holders since day 1; however, my entire family, myself included, went to FSU and have been FSU fans and going to FSU game for MUCH longer than the Jaguars have been in existence. I'll always choose to go to or watch an FSU game over any NFL game. Sometimes, the schedules don't match up and/or it's too tiring to make the trip to the college game and get back and also go to the Jaguars games.
I would say the same is very true for UF fans, as well. This past game, being not only Thanksgiving weekend, but also the FSU vs. UF game hurt as well. Although they've been down and quiet in recent years, Jacksonville is a Gator town and that was a big game for them at night they thought they could win. I'm sure a ton of Gator fans that are also Jaguars fans went to that game at night. Not only is it tough to get back and go to the game the next day, but getting dominated by FSU probably demoralized them to the point that they didn't want to do anything the next day.
In addition to this, I also agree with what another poster said above. I've tried giving my 2 tickets away to people for free, and lots of times no one wants them. Lots of people would rather be comfortable in their air conditioned home than watch the Jaguars get beat in the burning 1:00PM sun.
Lastly, as others have said, consistent winning will cure a lot of these problems.
Quote:I'd say my family falls into this category. We have two season tickets and have been season ticket holders since day 1; however, my entire family, myself included, went to FSU and have been FSU fans and going to FSU game for MUCH longer than the Jaguars have been in existence. I'll always choose to go to or watch an FSU game over any NFL game. Sometimes, the schedules don't match up and/or it's too tiring to make the trip to the college game and get back and also go to the Jaguars games.
I would say the same is very true for UF fans, as well. This past game, being not only Thanksgiving weekend, but also the FSU vs. UF game hurt as well. Although they've been down and quiet in recent years, Jacksonville is a Gator town and that was a big game for them at night they thought they could win. I'm sure a ton of Gator fans that are also Jaguars fans went to that game at night. Not only is it tough to get back and go to the game the next day, but getting dominated by FSU probably demoralized them to the point that they didn't want to do anything the next day.
In addition to this, I also agree with what another poster said above. I've tried giving my 2 tickets away to people for free, and lots of times no one wants them. Lots of people would rather be comfortable in their air conditioned home than watch the Jaguars get beat in the burning 1:00PM sun.
Lastly, as others have said, consistent winning will cure a lot of these problems.
No it won't.
If the NFL keeps scheduling 1PM games in September, those people more comfortable in AC won't care if they are winning or not.
The Gators play in the evening. Until the Jags play in the evening consistently, the heat is going to keep a large segment of would-be fans away.
Quote:No it won't.
If the NFL keeps scheduling 1PM games in September, those people more comfortable in AC won't care if they are winning or not.
The Gators play in the evening. Until the Jags play in the evening consistently, the heat is going to keep a large segment of would-be fans away.
The best attended games of the year were 1:00 games in the heat of the day, so.....there's that.
Quote:I'd say my family falls into this category. We have two season tickets and have been season ticket holders since day 1; however, my entire family, myself included, went to FSU and have been FSU fans and going to FSU game for MUCH longer than the Jaguars have been in existence. I'll always choose to go to or watch an FSU game over any NFL game. Sometimes, the schedules don't match up and/or it's too tiring to make the trip to the college game and get back and also go to the Jaguars games.
I would say the same is very true for UF fans, as well. This past game, being not only Thanksgiving weekend, but also the FSU vs. UF game hurt as well. Although they've been down and quiet in recent years, Jacksonville is a Gator town and that was a big game for them at night they thought they could win. I'm sure a ton of Gator fans that are also Jaguars fans went to that game at night. Not only is it tough to get back and go to the game the next day, but getting dominated by FSU probably demoralized them to the point that they didn't want to do anything the next day.
In addition to this, I also agree with what another poster said above. I've tried giving my 2 tickets away to people for free, and lots of times no one wants them. Lots of people would rather be comfortable in their air conditioned home than watch the Jaguars get beat in the burning 1:00PM sun.
Lastly, as others have said, consistent winning will cure a lot of these problems.
It's a Jaguar town is not even close
Quote:I disagree, MJD willed himself to success and multiple hundred yard games regardless of how crappy the team he played on.
Yep, MJD was one of the smallest guys on the field but he had the biggest heart when it came to running the football against a bunch of guys who were a lot bigger then he was.
He also had Gabbert back there at QB and the opposing teams knew he was getting the ball and he still produced a lot of yards.
You just don't find guys like FT or MJD in every draft.
The Jags do need to get Yeldon more touches though, especially when he gets off to a good start.
Why they didn't keep letting Yeldon run the ball, especially against a pretty bad run defense, or throw it to him out of the back field when it was working early in the game just baffles me.
9 carries for 36 yds, with your #1 RB, against a very bad run defense just doesn't make any sense to me.
Quote:It would be great if the team could at least be relaly good at one thing, like the best in the league against the run, or against the pass or having a shutout defense, or being the best at the run or pass, or STs...
it seems under GM Dave Caldwell & HC Gus Bradley for the last three years the team is below average at everything (around 20 to 30 ranked)...
I mean as a team they werent bad in sacks last year but by the end of the season they werent in the top 3 or even top 5 i dont think...
I would like for them to be number 1 in something and god please dont say punting...
... but we've got brian anger!
Quote:I would go watch no matter what.
We need a way to make the stadium louder while the bandwagon fans sit home and watch it on their 60" tv
proof that it takes very little to entertain the simple minded....
Couple things...
first, we have a stadium which is open ended on both sides. we'll never have an overwhelmingly loud atmosphere because of that.
second, as far as attendance, I was surprised by how empty it looked for the thursday night game. those were always the most fun to go to. even when the team stinks. I thought the attendance looked better for the chargers game. maybe thats because i was there in person and had a better view but it looks pretty well attended. obviously not packed but I think we're a couple good years away from having a packed house. I think we've got a great core of 40-50k fans that show up all the time but to consistently fill the remaining 20k seats in that stadium we'll need to be a winner. We've been arguably the worst team in the NFL over the last 8 years or so. With the worst of those years coming most recently.
third, I agree with those that like college football better. I find college games much more fun to go to. better tailgating. better in game experience. the whole experience is better. and I'd much rather go to a college game than an NFL one any day of the week. does that cost us a lot of fans at the Jags games? No idea. not sure how many people would go to the Jags game but instead spend their weekend in Tally or Gainesville. i cant imagine it's that many.
In Jacksonville Jaguars history only two players ever had more than 3 ProBowl appearances (That is 5 time Tony Boselli, and Jimmy Smith).
The Jaguars did have three players go 3 times being MJD, Mark Brunnell, and Marcus Stroud.
The Jaguars had two players go twice being Big John Henderson & Montell Owens.
The last time any Jaguar made the ProBowl was Poz in 2013 ( i think by default due to injury), and before that in 2010 M. Lewis i think went the same way.
In fact the year before that DGs only PB appearance i think was by default too.
Oh wait forgot about MJD in 2011
Quote:No it won't.
If the NFL keeps scheduling 1PM games in September, those people more comfortable in AC won't care if they are winning or not.
The Gators play in the evening. Until the Jags play in the evening consistently, the heat is going to keep a large segment of would-be fans away.
You'd be amazed at what a little winning "buzz" or momentum can do to motivate some folks to going down to the stadium.
Quote:In Jacksonville Jaguars history only two players ever had more than 3 ProBowl appearances (That is 5 time Tony Boselli, and Jimmy Smith).
The Jaguars did have three players go 3 times being MJD, Mark Brunnell, and Marcus Stroud.
The Jaguars had two players go twice being Big John Henderson & Montell Owens.
The last time any Jaguar made the ProBowl was Poz in 2013 ( i think by default due to injury), and before that in 2010 M. Lewis i think went the same way.
In fact the year before that DGs only PB appearance i think was by default too.
Oh wait forgot about MJD in 2011
I think it's fair to say though that the Jaguars would have had more Pro Bowl players over the years if the team had more success and as a result received more National TV exposure. Rashean Mathis comes to mind as a player who performed noticeably better for the Jaguars than his 1 Pro Bowl appearance amount reflects.
Quote:The holidays isn't an excuse. The Thanksgiving Day games looked full, even the sorry piss Lions. If a ticket holder is going away, give tix to someone.
But, with that loss Sunday, it won't matter what time of year it is.... Tix will be a tougher sell. If they don't show up for possible playoff implications, I don't expect them to when they still have a losing record.
Then there's the socialites that just go to hang in the bud zone to show off their latest leopard print tights. clueless as to what's happening on the field.
It's not an excuse. It's a fact. Jacksonville has a very transient population with two military bases and a very young overall population. People go home for the holidays. You're comparing things that have absolutely no similarity using Detroit as your measuring stick, but hey, whatever. You spin it however you need to in order to do what you usually do.
You say the loss on Sunday is somehow going to ruin it the rest of the season. That hasn't been the case for the majority of home games the past 3 years despite fans knowing the team was bad. Explain that for me since you've apparently got your finger on the pulse of the fan base. Can't wait to hear your excuses for fans showing up.
I remember what it was like back when the Jags had Brunell, Boselli, Taylor, J. Smith, McCardell, D. Darius, etc... believe me, that stadium can become deafening when it has an excited crowd in it. By and large however, it's been a long, long time since the Jaguars have done much on the field for the home crowd to really get excited about. A long time.
Put a winning Jaguars team on the field... one that can actually compete with good teams, and then string a winning season or two together... and there will be loud crowds at the stadium just like in the past who are excited about their football team! As it is, too many are there wondering about how badly the team is going to play, or aren't really there for the game at all so much as for the 'social event' to hang out at the cabanas and get drunk.
IMO... Everbank could have rough, unfinished wood bleachers, no concessions at all, and not many working bath rooms... but if the Jags regularly fielded a genuine play off caliber team who legitimately could contend for the S.B. ... the place would be packed by locals! There would be very little of this bull of fans from other teams coming here and monopolizing the 'bank' cause it would be full of local fans!
Football fans want to see football... specifically winning football. All the stuff in Everbank and whats being proposed around it is just fine, as far as it goes; but it isn't a substitute for a winning team. Until people think we've got that... Everbank will never sound as loud as it used to.