If you are the defending Super Bowl champions, like New Orleans, having NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stop by for a preseason visit is cause for celebration. If you are the Jacksonville Jaguars, however, a team coming off two consecutive losing seasons and one struggling to connect in a meaningful way with their fan base, the commissioner may as well arrive at camp wearing a black robe and toting a scythe.
With talks of relocating an NFL team to Los Angeles, or even London, Jacksonville needs to get their fans interested quickly. The Jaguars had to black-out almost all of their home games last season. Never a good sign, especially in a warm-weather city like Jacksonville where extreme cold and snow are never an issue. Of course, where fans are dedicated to the team, like Green Bay, Chicago and Buffalo, such weather extremes are embraced. This extreme passion demonstrated by fans from other cities makes Jacksonville’s inability to sell-out games even less acceptable.
Commissioner Goodell challenged the Jaguar’s organization and the local community during his visit “to demonstrate their passion for this team and their passion for football.” Not a good sign with so much relocation talk going around. In Minnesota, LA has been bandied around as a possible option if a new stadium deal is not reached soon in the legislature. But unlike in Jacksonville, there is a dedicated fan base in Minnesota and a franchise with an established, if not necessarily distinguished, history. No such history exists in Jacksonville and a new stadium is not part of the equation.
I personally have no desire to see an NFL team in Los Angeles, unless the Raiders move back there, but I wouldn’t wish that on any city.
Jacksonville, the Commissioner has served notice to you. You can try all the tricks in the world to increase fan interest in your games, but there is only one sure-fire cure for their apathy – win early, win big, win often.
The Titans managed to end the 2009 season on a high note despite being destroyed by New England 59-0 and suffering the embarrassment of their long-time coach Jeff Fisher wearing a Peyton Manning jersey at a charity event and joking that he "just wanted to feel like a winner".
Though some chastised Jeff Fisher for his “disrespect” of the Titans, I think his decision triggered a renewed sense of purpose for his beleaguered franchise. At the time of the jersey incident, Tennessee had yet to win a game. They entered their bye week a marvelous 0-6 and had been outscored by the likes of Jacksonville, Indianapolis and New England 127-26 in their previous three games. Collins, one of the surprising heroes of the 2008 season, lost his game completely and needed to be benched. The defense was in total disarray, having not allowed less than 24 points since the opening week against Pittsburgh. Chris Johnson remained the only bright spot on a struggling team.
Motivated after their bye week and inspired by the rejuvenated play of Vince Young, Tennessee finished the season on an 8-2 run, with their only losses coming against San Diego and Indianapolis. As much as Jeff Fisher was ridiculed last year for wearing Manning’s jersey, the ploy ended up being a brilliant move on his part.
The upcoming 2010 season will provide a new set of challenges for the Titans. Division victories will be hard to come by this season. Indianapolis is always strong, Houston is on the rise and Jacksonville is desperate to right their sinking ship. If the Titans struggle early again this year, I doubt any magic, motivational bullets will help them pull out of their tailspin, so Coach Fisher better have the team ready to play as soon as the season starts.
Tomorrow, a preview of the Creative Misfortune feature “This Day in Football History”...
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