Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union is reporting via Twitter that the Jaguars first regular season game of 2011 against the Titans on September 11 is expected to be televised in the local, Jacksonville television market instead of being blacked out as was expected. Before you go jumping for joy, Stellino is also reporting that the Jaguars are likely to be the ones responsible for lifting the blackout.

When Vic Ketchman was still writing for Jaguars.com he used to often say that the Jaguars hurt themselves by buying up tickets to avoid blackouts. He said the 2009 season of blackouts was a necessary evil to open the eyes of Jaguars fans and force them to get off their couches and away from their HDTVs to go to the games and fill the stadiums.

By lifting the blackout, the Jaguars run the risk of allowing local area fans to again get comfortable with the idea of not going to the game and watching from home. However, they also take the chance at building local interest in the team early in the season by broadcasting their opener.