City of Jacksonville and its Sporty Culture

Location and Tourism:

The environment of Jacksonville and football has given me a passion to live for and left me with countless memories cemented in my mind. There is something about coming back home to play the sport, that many hold dear, that beats any vacation. The outstanding characteristics of the city, on top of its sport-influenced culture, makes it a one-of-a-kind destination to go for a feeling of home comfort.

Jacksonville is the largest city by area in the United States (875 square miles) and is popular for its attractions and beaches. The city bears a population of about 926,000, with significant percentages varying amongst a wide range of ethnic groups. This northeastern region of Florida is comprised of a fair number of ethnic groups in the area, including Hispanic (9.2%), Asian (4.3%), mixed race (3.9%) and black (29.3%). This variation shows in the cultured town events that take place (COJ).

Jacksonville as a tourist attraction provides scenery of a bundle of parks, such as Memorial Park and Amelia Island State Park, and points of interest ranging from Friendship fountain and the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. The Jax beaches are an area known to be visited countless times by tourists waiting to catch a breeze in the dunes. The consistent weather pattern in this northeastern area of Florida makes it ideal for everyone to come to play football when the days are warmer and bright, as well as for tourists to revisit the city more often.

West Jacksonville is where I reside and are one of the larger areas of the city. The westside includes the neighborhoods of Argyle, Riverside, Ortega, Cedar Hills, Lake Shore, Murray Hill, Sweetwater, Confederate Point, and Normandy (Neighborhoods of Jacksonville). Normandy is home to a large number of those in the community, including myself, that has fields and a lot of unoccupied space ideal to gather to play. The Normandy fields are in an area that is less urban than the rest of Jacksonville and the air is fresher and less polluted with vehicles and buildings surrounding this land.

 

Organizing the game:

                The way that pickup football goes down in West Jax, our teams are split even, and when there are an odd number of players, one person can volunteer or be voted to play an all-time position. An all-time player plays for both teams on either side of the ball (offense or defense, not both).

                As far as regulations go when I am in my hometown on the gridiron, it is mostly similar to the traditional style that the sport is played. That unique twist that we add, however, is that we don’t limit position to weight size. Traditionally in football, it is made out to where the bigger players usually play on the line, a position where it is common for the strongest players to perform. Alternatively, the positions of quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, and defensive back are typically taken over by smaller, lighter individuals. The reason being, because these roles requires agile movement and finesse, whereas positions on the line require strength and the ability to protect (the quarterback).

                Another way that football is played differently here involves how we may tackle each other without wearing protective gear like shoulder pads and helmets, especially when we are tossing the ball around on the sandy Jacksonville beach. This aspect of the way that we play is similar to rugby, where players do not wear protective gear. Despite the hazardous possible outcomes of playing the sport without any protective gear, where I have grown up most of my life, me and my peers have always played rough with each other and endured a handful of battle scars. An upside of playing free of protective gear is that it liberates mobility, making it simpler to move around the field which in all calls for better performance by players. Our history with football in west Jacksonville is heavily influenced by aggressive behavior, and roughhousing has been solely a part of building a bond amongst ourselves.

Interviewee:

                Christioni Robinson, a long friend of mine, shares a similar joy for the sport that we play together in our community. Chris is the coordinator for when and where we play football— he explained that a characteristic that he has always noticed about himself is that he has a tendency to organize where he feels it is necessary. He referred his dislike for disorganization as a “mild case of OCD”, stating that despite trying to fight the urge to ignore the simplest ‘mess’ he ends up doing things like categorizing books or aligning a stack. As far as his obsession with tidiness and being perfectly organized, I questioned him on why he believes he is motivated to do such a thing. Christioni’s answer was that doing the little things is always worth it; his motivated stems from the feeling that he gets when he looks at a complete, scheduled meeting that he created or a clean room. Being one of few group coordinators to set up days to gather up to play, I asked him about the process of putting these events together.

When everyone gathers up at the local field in west Jacksonville, he is one of a handful of players that lead the organization and communication for play. The way in which Chris sets up for dates and times to play is by hosting a group chat in a given social media application. First, he checks for any availability in nearby parks or open fields.” The main field where we play most times is almost never occupied, but there isn’t any formal way to check into or rent the space…it’s all-inclusive” (Robinson). With the field being in a relatively rural area in the westside in Jacksonville, the population in the surrounding area is typically low. However, this creates an issue at times when all participants in our group expect to play here, because when everyone would show up, there is a chance that the field may be occupied by another group. “This causes for plans to fold, and then it becomes disappointing when we can’t play. Robinson stressed that it is difficult to come up with a plan B on the spot at the time of finding out that a field is already taken. The complication of the field not having any field staff or way to notify that the area is busy can be blowing for Chris when preparing an event. Without it, his only option is to trust the chances that no one will be around, considering the area the field is in. After sending a mass message to all members of those who are in the group for football, the number of people expected to be there are determined by the number of responses in the chat approving of the date and time in question. A final decision is made upon majority vote in accordance with location and time.

                During conversation with Chris I also asked his opinion on his sacrifices to the community, his purpose and he explained, “Football is everything here and it’s what makes each other family”. Elaborating on this statement, he mentioned that it was like peer therapy and being raised in a second family. A ritual was created that everyone would vote for one person to speak over the group giving a short motivation speech, and chant, and even sometimes praying. Chris regarded his sacrifices as his “laws”, or a list of things that he goes by in order to help all of his “brothers”. In addition to these statements, he regarded them as a part of how the responsibility of setting up times for play fell on him. “First off, no one wants to have to do all the work of to make something happen…I just so happen to love making everyone happy by being the one to make it happen. On top of that, I’m happy, because I get to do something that I like to do.” This well explains the mutual benefits of Chris taking on the responsibility of making arrangements.

 

Major Influence on the culture:

                The sport of football in Jacksonville was made out to be such a positive way to go, due to the impact of watching the Jaguars’ star performers take the show and bringing the sport into an attractive light. Jaguars former running back Fred Taylor was an idolized figure in the days of my youth, looked upon by all aspiring athletes. The numerous achievements that Taylor accommodated throughout his career as a Jaguar is a part of what makes him the player that stood out and caused the youth to see him as a role model. According to ESPN Taylor surpassed 1,000 yards seven times in his career, one in which was a career-high yard count of 1,572, totaling 11,695 yards (DiRocco).

                Taylor’s awing performances is not only what sets him aside from the other players. He also has the unique personality that gives him that “it” factor to be an idol. “At the very least Taylor is an overlooked star. Of the top 49 rushers in NFL history, he is the only one never to have made the Pro Bowl. He is not even the most celebrated running back on his own team, often overshadowed by his supposed understudy, Jones-Drew. But, as Jones-Drew himself puts it, Fred Taylor "is the Jaguars (Jenkins)." The statements by professional Jaguar running back Jones-Drew vouches for why Fred Taylor has such an influencing image. Not to mention the thousands of fans in the Everbank stadium every home game with Taylor’s 28 jersey.

History of Jacksonville Football/Influence:

                A possible major influence on the love for football in Jacksonville is likely to be derived from the establishment of Jacksonville Jaguars, a professional NFL team whose inaugural season began in 1995. It has been only sport that has landed a spot in a major sport organization like the NFL. Jacksonville does not have a big basketball team or a major baseball team, so football became a topic that locals could focus toward.

                Jacksonville managed to land an opportunity to host its very first Super Bowl in 2005, played between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Alltel Stadium, renamed Everbank Field in 2010, has underwent a number of changes from its birth 22 years ago. At the time of the stadium hosting Super Bowl XXXIX, it was stadium went through a renovation costing about $63 million to help make it worthy of hosting such a huge event apart of American culture (Stadium History). Around the time of this event, there were a multitude of shops surrounding the stadium selling various pieces of merchandise, including Super Bowl XXXIX hats, footballs, and football agility courses were also created for citizens to participate and get into the spirit of football. There was also Jaguars merchandise that sold, although the participating teams did not include the Jacksonville Jaguars. This allowed for people to continue to show support for the home team and raised awareness of the team for visitors.

Despite concerns with the city’s labor pool and airport capacity to withstand a multitude of visitors, and other factors, Kansas City Chiefs owner (at the time) Lamar Hunt stated that he has seen Jacksonville as the “heir” apparent to those types of cities. This gave Jacksonville a huge look as far as for people visiting the place and molding its place in football. The time of occurrence is very important, considering this is around the time that I had started to get into the sport (at around 6 years old). Since then, the relevance of football for us had spiked and placed a great impact on the youth’s influences at the time.

                The Jacksonville Jaguars continue to reach the local people today by giving back to the, whether it is hosting an autographing session, or building programs to help the youth. The members of this team take on the position of a role model for young children throughout Jacksonville. According to the Jaguars Foundation, they provide monetary support to over 11,000 charitable tickets per season (valued at over $450,000) and have given away one million dollars in grants in the past year (The Foundation). They abide by a mission statement that confirms their commitment to programs that benefit “economically and socially disadvantaged youth, families and other NFL and team charitable initiatives”. These acts are what build influence of football toward the youth; being active in the community and touching lives by offering that amount of support.

                In essence, there are multiple factors in gameplay and differences in the culture of the football community in Jacksonville that separates itself from the traditional way in which the sport is played elsewhere. These differences are what make the experiences in the game unique for me and those who come home to Jacksonville to play football. The cultural appreciation, age group, and influences on Jacksonville culture growing up all play a role in molding the experience of football in this city as an experience that brings not only a sense of nostalgia or a relief from being away from home, but an experience that can serve as a means of influence in building character and bringing people together.