There has been an inaccurate perception that the Jacksonville Jaguars’ fanbase is barely existent and Shad Khan’s recent decision to play two games in London certainly hasn’t helped change that. However, the fanbase is proving that those sentiments couldn’t be further from the truth and have formed a movement called Duval Coalition in wake of Khan’s decision.
The movement was started by the Jags’ biggest support group, the Bold City Brigade, on Wednesday and has already generated a lot of traffic. In a nutshell, the site gives fans a way for their voices to be heard and declare their opposition for losing another home game. Nearly 17,800 people and 670 local businesses have been counted on the site’s tracker and that number is sure to increase over time.
“Our organization was born out of the diehard support that so many local fans have displayed over the past 25 seasons,” said the Bold City Brigade through their official page.“We want to make it clear that we vehemently oppose this decision. Furthermore, it is our belief that any other fanbase, if faced with a similar situation would feel equally as disappointed and angry.”
“We call on all Jaguars fans to make their voices heard,” they added. “We will be consulting with our members about actions to take going forward. Shad Khan may own the Jaguars franchise, but the soul of the Jaguars belongs to Jacksonville and all of the fans that passionately support them.”
Upon the news of more games being played in London surfacing, owner Shad Khan said that he expected fans to respond positively. However, that has been far from the case.
Khan and the team’s representatives have come out to say the decision is to help with revenue, as the games in London bring in twice as much as those in Jacksonville. The fans counter to that has been pointing out the fact that both Khan and the team’s net worth have increased, all while he’s accumulated a 38-90 record.
In January, the Jags showed a bit of reluctance to say whether or not winning consistently would provide a strong enough stream of local revenue. In a meeting with the Florida Times-Union, Jags president Mark Lamping stated that winning wouldn’t be enough to generate the revenue goal the team has set due to the market size.
“To sit back and say winning is going to cure everything — not in this market,” Lamping said last month.
Of course, those comments also received backlash from the fans because the Jags don’t have but one season worth of winning data to go by. Of course, that was the 2017 season (10-6), which is Khan’s only winning season out of eight.
It’s clear fans would like to see Khan do his part in terms of putting together a watchable product before making a case that the team needs to have two games in London a year. Unfortunately, it’s a pill they will have to swallow for at least 2020, and another losing season from Khan certainly won’t help rally locals as it is a chance he could hit the 100-loss mark in 2020.