Quote:Peter King ‏@SI_PeterKing  May 19

RT @imbillmcneal: What does it say that #Jags had 6,200 fans at rookie minicamp practice? ... Great news. Jax could be sleeping giant soon.

 

 

After 20 years of developing the fan base here in Jax, does anyone else feel like the franchise is on the cusp of finally making huge strides towards being in the same category as the Green Bay's and Pittsburgh's in terms of being an NFL city? Since the Jaguars are the only show in town, I think the momentum we are gaining can grow exponentially.

 

Huge strides?  I think we're headed in the right direction, and we are starting to get the attention of those outside of the market that the fan base here isn't nearly as bad as they've portrayed it to be over the years.  I think we actually have a very loyal core fan base that simply needed time to mature to the point where those who had other loyalties when the team was awarded to the city have been replaced by the kids who grew up in a world where there was always Jaguars football, for better or for worse.

 

The problem here has always been the perception more than the reality.  The kinds of fluctuations we've seen with ticket sales and such are the same cyclical things other markets have seen.  It is just more pronounced here because of the market size, and because of that, the big shots in the mainstream media look at Jacksonville as an afterthought.  They act almost amazed that the fans could possibly be excited about the Jaguars when the reality is the fans have always been here waiting for something to get excited about. 

 

We've been through a pretty tough stretch.  Things have improved, and should continue to do so.  Eventually, blurbs like this about the fan base will simply go away.

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