It is a stretch for anyone to construe this as a dig on the Jaguars.

 

His stated rationale for London being deserving of an NFL team reads, in relevant part: 

 

"I think the fans deserve it and London deserves it because it is a great city."

 

At face value, neither Jacksonville nor the Jaguars are mentioned at all by MJD.

 

It is difficult to envision any subtle, tacit dig at Jacksonville or the Jaguars in his words.

 

If you assert he means the fans in London deserve a team because of their support, and by implication Jacksonville does not deserve a team based on a comparative lack of support, then he can't make that argument against Jacksonville without it applying to his childhood team and current employer Oakland. 

 

Since the Raiders have returned to Oakland, they have had LONG strings of blackouts.  Actually, blackouts have been problematic in Oakland for decades.

 

http://www.ibabuzz.com/oaklandraiders/20...ches-nine/

 

Yes, tarps have helped the Jaguars avoid blackouts, but Oakland's use of tarps has been even more extreme.  The Raiders tarped off their stadium for a maximum capacity of 53,000, 14,000 lower than the Jaguars seating capacity at Everbank.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/oakla...nce-020613

 

The second prong is London being deserving of an NFL team because it is a "great city."  If the implication is that Jacksonville is NOT a great city and therefore not deserving of an NFL team, that is problematic on several levels.

 

First it presumes all NFL cities are "great" cities or that being a "great" city is a prerequisite to having an NFL team.  I can assure you most NFL cities has its share of detractors, including Oakland.

 

Furthermore, it's a subjective term.  A person for whom warm climate and weather are important may value Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa and San Diego to London, Cleveland or Buffalo.  A person who prefers a vibrant nightlife may prefer New York or Miami to Jacksonville or Green Bay.

 

I don't see how MJD could imply anything negative about Jacksonville in the above comments, especially considering it would throw his own team and town under the bus.

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