by brenton crozier bdcrozier@gmail.com
Yes Mr. Williams, myself and the good people of Jacksonville are ready for some football. With winter coats, white wigglers, and cooler scooters (a new one on me) in tow, the Jaguars fans were jazzed up to welcome Tom Coughlin and his new friends home on a rather chilly Monday night.
I must confess, I wasn’t completely comfortable with the scenario of being around both Coughlin and Coach Del Rio. It felt like when you show up at a party with your new girlfriend and your ex is lingering around. However, there is a larger and more important point to be madewith no room for diplomacy.
Coughlin’s return made me think of the powerful magnetic characteristic of Jacksonville. What is it about our beloved River City that makes so many unable to leave, or at least always return at some point? Even within the small sphere of Jaguar players, there are numerous examples to illustrate my point.
You will often see Tony Boselli hawking cars for local dealerships, hear Jeff Lageman doing play-by-play for radio, and even Mark Brunell who plays for the Washington Redskins, still calls Jacksonville home.
Intrigued by my own brilliant introspection, I waded into the fans looking for some affirmation. I met up with Jags supporters Chelsea Amos, Caitlin Leonard, and Nate Rice who were all bundled and beered up.
I wanted to get the obvious out of the way and asked the group to look in their hearts and think about the one question they would ask Tom Coughlin if given the chance. After pondering, Nate spoke up for the group telling me that he would ask him, “Do you regret coaching in a colder climate?” After thinking about his answer for a second or two, I moved on to his pretty lady friends and my primary objective, asking the group about Jacksonville’s bewitching powers.
I asked about Jacksonville’s force majeure that seemingly encompasses all who enter the city’s wide-stretched borders. Expecting them to tell me that it was the great beaches, the wide array of cultural scenes, the prospering downtown area, the great golf spots, or even the captivating weekly publications, they took me by surprise with their answer.
Instead of singing the praises of Jacksonville, Chelsea told me that, “It’s a lot better than St. Augustine.” Our discussion somehow shifted to all the ways that Jacksonville is better than St. Augustine. Apparently my new friends reside in the nation’s oldest city and used my question to fume. I was slightly confused, but went with it.
Caitlin piped in that “Everything in St. Augustine closes too early and we don’t really have any good sporting events.” Score two more for Jacksonville, and in your face St. Augustine! It was a good run, but I shall digress no further. After all, St. Augustine is like the little brother that we can hang out with on those weekends that everyone else is busy.
Although subtle at times, Jacksonville does have plenty of charm that keeps most here or draws them back at some point. Tom Coughlin and his New York Giants probably wished that they hadn’t come back as the Jaguars ruthlessly chopped them down. No beans about it, it got ugly. I heard that Peyton Manning’s little brother was even in town.
I’m sure that everyone has their own unique reason for making Jacksonville home. Regardless of what that is, be sure to enjoy the multitude of independently-owned restaurants, a film at the San Marco Theater, a night out at the Beaches, and of course a Jacksonville Jaguars football game. Better luck next time Coach Coughlin.
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