Where I live: Hagerstown, MD (born and raised in Tallahassee, FL).

 

1. The Jaguars, of course.

 

I became a fan the instant I found out that Jax had been awarded a franchise. I haven't lived in Northern Florida in 27 years, but it is and always will be home to me so changing allegiance to my new, "home" team wasn't very hard. Prior to that, I was surprisingly a Rams' fan. The Rams of the 80s were a very good and grossly underrated team because they lived in the shadow of the 49ers. Jim Everett (before he became Chris), Eric Dickerson, Henry Ellard and Willie "Flipper" Anderson were, and still are, arguably the most underrated offense of the era and they were solid defensively. Much like the late 90s Utah Jazz (who I was also a fan of), they had the misfortune of running into a virtually unstoppable championship juggernaut.

 

2. Tough question. If I had to pick one thing it'd be the location. Northern Florida is amazing and not many people know that who aren't from there.

 

3. No. I see no point in doing so.

 

4. History. Imagine if we had made it past New England and won the Super Bowl in 1996? I think that, more than anything (even had we done so in 1999), would have truly put this franchise on the map.

 

5. Diehard. I will never abandon my team. I will never change allegiance again short of the team no longer existing. I'm not hardcore. I'm not a stat guy. I simply love my team for all its flaws and will continue doing so.

 

6. This is where it gets tricky. My favorite Jaguar is Aaron Beasley. My favorite player period is Eric Dickerson.

 

7. Because it's ours...and it's inherently a violent sport. We Americans love our violence.

 

8. Nope. Outside of having to sometimes justify my allegiance to casual/bandwagon fans of trending teams, no. If anything, me being a Jaguars fan in the middle of Steelers, Ravens and Redskins countries has made me quite a few friends. The Steelers fans especially, for as obnoxious as they can be, are very respectful of my ties to the Jaguars and deep down most of them want to see us kicking [BAD WORD REMOVED] again...just not against them. 

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