JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The jokes write themselves: The Jacksonville Jaguars are going to play home games in front of a significantly reduced number of fans this season.
“How’s that different than any other year?”
Don’t laugh. The Jaguars – along with Atlanta, Cincinnati, Miami, Tampa Bay and others – might be better equipped to handle the NFL’s drastic change in hometown support. They’ve dealt with it for years.
Videoboard enhancements? Player-generated content? On-field celebrations recognizing community heroes and military veterans? Some NFL teams have been doing those and more for decades to help offset fewer butts in seats.
“One of the unfortunate advantages of being in a smaller market like Jacksonville is we have to get a little more creative in terms of how we create that home-field advantage,” Jaguars team president Mark Lamping said. “We’d have to do that if it’s normal capacity or not.”