The Jacksonville Jaguars history is short considering they are an NFL expansion team that has been around since 1995. They play in Jacksonville, Florida, and joined up to the Central Division of the AFC along with the Carolina Panthers. In 2002, they became a part of the AFC South Division of the NFL. The town had become known as a great place for football, boasting college and pro games complete with parties and parades leading the way up to the games. Jacksonville also played host to the 1967 and 1968 All Star Game of the AFL. They attempted over the years to acquire a team, first chasing after the Baltimore Colts with no avail, and then setting their sites on the Houston Oilers. They even created a “Jacksonville Oilers” banner and designated an area of the stadium as non-alcoholic and family oriented to try to win this team over in the late 80s. However, they remained without a team of their own for quite a few more years.
Since the NFL hadn’t had an expansion since 1976, they decided in the early 1990s to add two more teams. The goal was to have them ready for the 1993 season, and the choice was to be made from Charlotte, St. Louis, Baltimore, Memphis, and Jacksonville. As it turned out, Jacksonville and Charlotte were chosen, and the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers were born. So Jacksonville Jaguars history began in Southern Florida. It wasn’t expected that Jacksonville would get the team, as Florida already had two NFL teams in the state. Also, the markets were ranked very low, and the fan base was questionable because of the large focus on college sports in the area. Nonetheless, they were elected to own the franchise.
The Gator Bowl stadium was built during the Great Depression, which hosted occasional NFL exhibition games, as well as the short-lived World Football League and United States Football League teams. It was old and had been added onto many times in the past, making it unusable for a big team like an NFL franchise. Therefore, it was demolished in 1993, and a brand new stadium was built. The West upper deck and a portion of the ramping system were spared from demolition and deemed to still be usable in the new structure. Jacksonville Municipal Stadium had arrived. For a brief stint of ten years, it was known as Alltel Stadium, but then reverted back to being called the Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.
In 1995, Jacksonville Jaguars history began, ending with a record of only 4-12 for the year. This season set the stage for many key players, though, including the likes of quarterback Mark Brunell, running back James Stewart, and wide receiver Jimmy Smith. The team got better their second year, winning six of their seven final games, allowing them to finish with a winning record of 9-7. A significant event in Jacksonville Jaguars history is when they won a spot in the AFC playoffs, beating both the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos, who had easily dominated the AFC that season. This increased the demand for Jacksonville Jaguars memorabilia exponentially. They did very well in the championship game, but ended up losing to the New England Patriots. They again had a winning record and made the playoffs in 1997, but lost the first game and were out for the season. This kept on for quite some time, each year with a winning record and a trip to the playoffs, until 2000, when the Jacksonville Jaguars team took a turn for the worse.
Some of the disappointments in Jacksonville Jaguars history involved salary cap problems and other issues plagued the team in 2000-2003. This caused a lot of losses because the team couldn’t afford to keep a lot of talent on their roster, giving them fewer good players and a lesser ability to win. When 2002 arrived, the NFL saw fit to divide up the teams further, which brought the Jacksonville Jaguars to the AFC South from the AFC central. The 2003 season was none better than the previous years, as rebuilding the team was taking much longer than anyone expected.
Despite their many failures, the Jacksonville Jaguars team has had plenty of successes, as well. Overall, the team is rebuilding and creating a better name for themselves within the NFL franchise. Although they have had many ups and downs, Jacksonville Jaguars memorabilia still has plenty to offer for the true fans and collectors out there. Players like Mark Brunell and James Stewart have made the Jacksonville Jaguars stuff more memorable because their names are on it, and they were key players in the NFL, even if the team wasn’t always doing so great.
