I had the pleasure of meeting one of the members of True to the Teal at the game yesterday. Their mission is to keep the Jaguars in Jacksonville by getting a grassroots campaign going in the city and region. Their website is somewhat bare bones, but I encourage all of you to follow them on twitter and Facebook for events they will be doing during the season.
UPDATE: I spoke with TTTT's founder Joanne Gage and this is what she had to say about the group and the Jaguars.
1. In your own words, what are True to the Teal's goals?
True to the Teal was formed to draw attention to the the fact that Jacksonville is at risk of losing the Jaguars if, as a community, we don't come together to support the team. Support means supporting them when they win and when they lose- during good seasons and not-so-good seasons. Our goal is to replace complacency with zeal and negativity with enthusiasm.
2. What events are you planning to help create awareness in and around Jacksonville?
This is a grass roots effort. The founding members are holding some initial events such as tailgating yesterday at the game all in our TTTT tee shirts, purchasing seats together and holding signs. Tonight we're meeting at Sneakers at the beach to watch the End Zone broadcast. Next weekend, we're inviting interested people to join us at the Ale House at Hodges and Beach to watch the Seattle game. We feel it's important to gather together for broadcasted games and generate enthusiasm for our team. We will be selling True to the Teal tee shirts at that event so that we can get them into the hands of as many people as possible. We hope others will plan their own True to the Teal events around town. We also hope to secure some blocks of seats at future games and to get some more True to the Teal paraphernalia that we can distribute around town.
3. What is your opinion on Weaver's comments about Orlando?
We believe that Wayne Weaver is a man of his word and he has been wonderful for Jacksonville. He also is an excellent businessman. As such, he faces tough business decisions. We don't want one of those decisions to be whether to stay in Jacksonville or take the team to a town where the team will be better supported and profitable. We want Wayne Weaver to have a successful, supported, profitable team right here. He deserves that.
4. Why do you think support has dwindled for the team over the years?
Not sure. The economic climate certainly has made it tough for many people to buy season tickets and even one ticket may be too difficult for some. However, other small markets, also suffering from an economic downturn are still able to fill their stadiums. Look at Buffalo and Green Bay! In Jacksonville, it appears that indifference has become the norm rather than the exception.
5. Are you a fan of drafting UF QB Tim Tebow?
In our view, there are pros and cons to drafting Tim Tebow. He would definitely be a draw for ticket sales and everyone in the country would know about the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, we also don't think we should need a super star to muster up support and enthusiasm for the team. We have a quarterback who played one of the best games in the league yesterday against our division rival- the Titans. It doesn't get much better than that.
6. Which team is most likely LA bound and why; Minnesota, San Diego, St.Louis, or Jacksonville?
We only know one thing- it will not be Jacksonville- not if this town becomes True to the Teal!
-Jonathan Loesche