Yes, there are still seven months to get through before the NFL draft rolls around. Yes, Florida still has the rest of the regular season and postseason in front of them.
That, however, hasn’t stopped the groundswell of Tebow Mania already hitting Jacksonville.
Sagging attendance in a city that could seemingly take it or leave it when it comes to NFL football depending on which way the wind is blowing has left the Jacksonville Jaguars searching for a franchise savior and an injection of energy into the fan base. Enter St. Timothy.
According to Jaguars’ owner Wayne Weaver, drafting Tim Tebow is something that he would definitely consider, if for nothing more than what the hometown boy would bring to the box office.
“Star power is incredible, and Tebow is an iconic figure,” Weaver told the Associated Press, noting that Brett Favre’s arrival in Minnesota prompted about 7,000 season-ticket sales. “That’s very compelling. He clearly is an outstanding football player and would be an asset to any football organization.”
Just where Tebow would land in the NFL draft is still a long way from being determined. As with just about every other team, the Jaguars’ evaluations on just what type of player Tebow can be in the NFL are likely littered with incomplete’s and uncertainties. And that will likely remain the case as wind through the season and well into the Indy combine and private workouts that are bound to fill Tebow’s late winter itinerary.
Still to be determined as well is just where the Jaguars will fall in the draft order, and if they’ll even get the opportunity to take a shot at the Florida quarterback.
What can’t be argued is the kind of effect Tebow would have on Jacksonville’s bottom line both at the gate and in merchandising.
Would he be able to come down from on high and save a floundering franchise? Nobody knows, but it seems like the Jaguars will give serious thought to allowing him to attempt it.
It’s not that Jacksonville doesn’t care about NFL football. NFL football gets better ratings here than Gator games. But most of the ticket-buying age group in this town either grew up elsewhere or grew up knowing that every Sunday, there was free NFL football on TV. What Jacksonville really needs is to tread water until the kids who are growing up as Jaguar fans start making it into the ticket buying demographic.
He’s a Jacksonville boy, so that town would have more excitement than Houston had over their thought of drafting Vince Young. If the Jags do draft him, you can bet that the largest city (by area) in the lower 48 will rename itself Tebowville. Or Jacktimville.
That’s all well and good, for about 2 games. Then, its either win or leave, just like it is every single other college star. He might get an extra couple games as a Gator, but but being really, really good in college doesn’t always get you a whole lot in the NFL. Do you think the Texans or the Texans fans wish they’d drafted Vince Young?
I’m a Titans fan and I did NOT want Vince Young! We’re gonna have to get a QB this next go around…if not sooner.
“Local boy as team savior” never works.
Tebow is an awesome college talent. He might even be a serviceable pro. But he’s not a guy that’s going to come in as a rookie, pick up a pro franchise, and carry it on his back.
When a team does this sort of thing it’s screaming to its fan base “we’re a gimmick, and we can’t really compete!”
I understand tough economic times, etc. Jacksonville is a great city that I often visit on business. It’s just not big enough to support the NFL in an economy like this.
Tebow is not any teams savior JESUS is just ask him, or better yet just listen to his rant.
I wonder if Jacksonville is really an NFL city…they have struggled each of the last 3-4 years to sell tickets and we’ve heard the refrain of wait until the young fans can buy tickets, but its been 15 years now and nothing has really changed. Unfortunately, Tebow is an unknown and what is scary is if the Jaguars have another bad season, the pressure will be intense to take him just to see tickets. He may be a good NFL player, but I’m sure if there is a better player out there that they can use, pressure will be ratcheded up to take him because he is a local guy. Maybe they get a package deal and bring Urban with him! The Jaguars have tried many things to see tickets and even had to resort to covering parts of the stadium to meet the lack of demand a couple of years ago…The stadium is too big for the market…They are using a stadium that was expanded to handle the FL-GA game and it is too big for the market. I’m sure local fans are chomping at the bit to get Tebow and I think it would be much better for him to go to another city. I think there would be way too much pressure on him because people would expect him to come in and do the things he did at Florida. That isn’t going to happen in a year or so.