After the Jaguars were delivered a natural-ass whipping by the Houston Texans yesterday I was reminded of the first season of the Jack Del Rio Era, where fans were absent from the stadium and the team ownership was grousing about revenues and claiming to be losing money. I think fans that are hoping to see the Jaguars stay in Jacksonville long-term are in much worse shape now, even with a sold-out season.

They are really hard to watch. Especially when they lose.

And with so many alternatives that are most likely cheaper and arguably more enjoyable, like college football in Gainesville/Tallahassee and outdoor activities around The First Coast, spending all-day Sunday doing the get ready + wait in traffic + park + tailgate + watch the Jaguars lose a close one + file out of stadium depressed + wait in traffic thing doesn’t seem so enticing…

My theory: While every NFL team has its die-hard fans (which is great), I would be willing to bet that the ratio of fairweather to die-hard is probably 4-1 or 5-1. I think the 4-1 fairweather/diehard ratio applies Up North and the 5-1 applies in warmer climates, especially in places where outdoor activities are still possible during the October through December months.

I read the following statement in Parag’s blog and couldn’t agree more:

“If I were a billionaire then I would love for my private enterprise to be funded by the unthinking sports fan who believes that he is the beneficiary of such schemes. He is told that businesses will leave or choose not to come here based on the sports franchise.”

A majority of Jag-wires fans are perfect example/sheeple of this phenomenon, foolishly spouting phrases like “It’s our team” and “We gotta support our team [or they'll leave for L.A.]“, while lining the Weavers & Co’s pockets. The carpet-and-paint fiasco, where Mr. J. Wayne Weaver jerked The City for another $13 million right before the Super Bowl (as if the NFL was going to pull out at the last second) still irks me to this day. Wouldn’t $13 mil benefit our community a lot more if it were spent on public education — like an F-school perhaps — instead of on some wealthy baron’s nest egg?

The last time I checked, $750 million in franchise value appreciation = not losing money. The next time I hear the Jag-wire organization claim poverty or feed us the cowdung about being a small market team that can barely keep the lights on…

And for those who make the argument that the Jaguars make Jacksonville more economically viable, a more cosmopolitan city, legitimate, or a destination, I refer you to the following articles (my sources):

Professional Sports Facilities, Franchises and Urban Economic Development
“Upon Further Review:An Examination of Sporting Event Economic Impact Studies”

This site/blog will no longer be relegated to slideshows of our European & Far East vacations and my ramblings about, well, nothing!

The reason? We probably won’t be taking any more vacations since we just bought a house!

The Not So Good:

It currently doesn’t have interior walls, functioning plumbing, or completed electrical wiring. The inside mostly looks like this:

** Note: This is a lot of pictures, so check them out on a fast Internet connection only! **

Milan

Venice

Rome

I’ve started this site to serve as a little repository for vacation pictures, musings, and stuff that doesn’t really fit anywhere else. Obviously this is meant for family and friends, but it would be quite naïve to assume that only f&f will end up viewing this site. Thus, you won’t see any myspace-style almost-nude photos (not that any exist, mind you) or ultra-inflammatory content.

What that means is if you’re some anonymous Internet-lurker looking for something viscerally exciting you’re in the wrong place! For that, I highly recommend the other blogs out there at WordPress, Blogspot, or TypePad.

Also, don’t expect this sucker to be updated very often. Agnes and I work a lot, so it’s not like we have a ton of vacation pictures or time to “blog”.

[New York Accent] Hey, pal, we’re trying to run a photography business here! [/New York Accent]