Sports Fan
I like to watch all types of sports. There are several sporting venue’s here in ol Jax. Here are some of my favorites and a couple of honorable mentions.
This is our local Roller Derby organization. I have been to a few of their bouts and it has been pretty fun. You may also see these girls out and about during public functions such as Art Walk and even Free Comic Book Day. My wife currently NSOs with them. That’s one of those people in the middle of the track blowing whistles or scribbling on the whiteboard.
Football has to be one of my favorite sports. It’s a simple game to understand and even play. I played quite a bit of flag football and full tackle football as a kid. There were always pickup games going on all over my neighborhood. Often times we would play full tackle across multiple front yards in the neighborhood. Sometimes we even played in the street. I remember everyone wanting to be Dan Marino when we played. We even had the official NFL Dan Marino football complete with printed autograph to play with. Let’s just say I was no Marino fan lol.
The Jacksonville Sharks are a local Arena Football team that has been around for a couple of years. I have been to a few games and it is quite fun to watch. It is a very fast paced, high scoring brand of football.
The playing field is a lot smaller and the players sometimes end up in the stands. It is often said over the course of the game “If a player ends up in the stands, you can keep the ball but you’ve got to throw the player back”. They aren’t kidding either. I have seen it happen.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have been a big part of Jacksonville for quite some time now. We sometimes get media attention that makes Jacksonville out to be a fickle football city. Well, they are only partially correct. I have been attending Jaguars Football games since they arrived in our city. I have had season tickets multiple times. I am currently a season ticket holder.
Experiencing a live NFL football game is something I think any football fan should do. It’s more raw and energetic than simply watching the game on TV. Elbow to elbow with other fans or even rivals, screaming, yelling, it’s quite exciting.
One of the common things you’ll hear at a Jaguars game is the sound of “move those chains, move those chains, move those chains, MOVE!” after each first down made by our team. This activity has been mentioned by visiting teams on the TV.
The Jacksonville Bulls were a popular professional football team. The league was up and coming and the Bulls were very well received here in Jax. I remember when we were looking for a NFL team many people wanted the new team to be called the Bulls. I don’t recall attending any of the Bulls games as a kid. They were only around for a couple of years.
The Bulls did leave a lasting mark on Jacksonville proving that we were and still are a football city. I think I recall a local bar being owned and operated by a former Bulls player. There were many good stories and good games back in the mid 1980s. It’s a shame the league didn’t last a bit longer. I figure the Bulls are worth an honorable mention here on my lil blog.
Hockey is definitely a load of fun to watch. It is especially fun if you are lucky enough to get right up on the glass. This way you can taunt and yell at the visiting team and try to get into their lil hockey helmet heads. Or maybe get under the skin of the visiting goalie. As of this posting there isn’t currently any hockey in Jacksonville. These small leagues have all gone out of business. Their absence is felt my me and several of my friends.
The last team to grace Jacksonville with their presence were the Jacksonville Barracudas. There were many great games at the old Jacksonville Veterans Coliseum. We sat close to glass for several games. We enjoyed yelling for “hair guy” and we then termed the phrase “Hockey Hair”. Basically a player who became coach and he always had lovely long flowing hair. LOL
It is also very funny to watch the beer fly when there was a nice check on the glass. Often times there were foolish people sitting at the glass setting drinks there. Seriously? Have they never seen hockey before?
Sitting near the penalty box was also fun as you could taunt the poor suckers sitting in there.
Before the Barracudas were in town we had the Jacksonville Lizard Kings. They were extremely popular and they were around for quite a few years. I went to several games over their time in Jacksonville. They are missed.
The Lizard Kings had some pretty cool TV ads and well that damn lizard is pretty freggin AWESOME if you ask me.
Jacksonville has had a Baseball team since 1962. Honestly, I didn’t realize the Jacksonville Suns (also called the Jacksonville Expos for a while) had been in town for so long. I have been to Suns games off and on for a good portion of my life. Many of the tickets were prizes or gifts. I am not really a big baseball fan, however I do respect the American Tradition that is baseball. There is something to be said about having a Hot Dog and a beer during the game.
Another new local sporting establishment has been the professional minor league basketball team called the Jacksonville Giants. I am even
less of a basketball fan than I am a baseball fan. I did manage to make it out to the last game of the regular season. It was fun to watch and I hope the team sticks around for some time to come.
I do believe this is part of a ongoing goal to bring an actual NBA team to Jacksonville. Honestly, I think an NBA team would do well here. There are plenty of basketball fans around. I did play my share of ball around the neighborhood parks. So Go Giants!!
Now last but not least I’d like to give honorable mention to the Jacksonville Axemen. Until posting this blog I didn’t even know they existed. Apparently we have a local rugby team and it seems they are quite good. How about that? Seems they play in the UNF stadium. Maybe if they stick around a while I’ll go have a look. It can’t hurt to go outside every now and then.