The ticket situation in Jacksonville has been a long running national joke for the past couple of seasons. Having 9 of the Jaguars 10 home games blacked out in the 2009 season didn't help matters, either. Many speculated that the Jaguars would have to draft a certain someone in order to even come close to not blacking out the stadium, but as we all know that certain someone wasn't drafted by the Jaguars. Instead, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Tyson Alualu... who wasn't expected to sell any tickets.
Despite the fact that the Jacksonville Jaguars defied national media speculation and passed on Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow started a flurry of criticism about how the team is now destined for Los Angeles. Drafting "him" would be the only way to sell tickets and save the franchise.
A little known fact that is either unknown or ignored by quite a few media outlets however, is the fact that two separate marketing firms were hired to gauge how many season tickets said Florida quarterback would generate. What was the verdict? 2,000 to 2,500 season tickets.
Since April 29th and as of yesterday (May 6th), the Jacksonville Jaguars have sold 3,374 season tickets.
What? That's more than the projected sales he would have brought in!
Now, would the Jaguars have sold more than 3,374 season tickets this past week if he had been drafted?
Possibly, but not that much more given the projection.
Some groups have been hard at work pushing tickets around the community, mainly through former Jacksonville Jaguar great Tony Boselli and "Team Teal" and Touchdown Jacksonville. It looks like all of the rallies and their hard work is paying off big time.
Here's how the Jaguars season tickets have shaken down over the past month of April and 6 days of May:
| DATE | REMAINING | SOLD | CHANGE |
| April 1, 2010 | 22,793 | 28,164 | 0 |
| April 8, 2010 | 21,610 | 29,347 | +1,183 |
| April 15, 2010 | 20,999 | 29,958 | +611 |
| April 29, 2010 | 18,497 | 32,460 | +2,502 |
| May 6, 2010 | 15,123 | 35,834 | +3,374 |
So, given the chart... the Jacksonville Jaguars have sold 7,670 season tickets since the beginning of April, including 3,374 over the past 7 days.
The ticket problems certainly are not over, but the outlook is very positive for the first time in quite a while. This chart does not factor in the projected 8,000 group sales expected from local businesses, which would cut the remaining total by more than half.
So is it the Tyson Alualu effect?
Doubtful, but it's fun to throw that out there.
One thing is for certain, the Jaguars need to keep the pace and meet the goal. I believe it will happen.
Thank you to Daniel Crowell for sending me the Jaguars "Fuel" charts.