All right, buckle up, grab your foam finger, clear your throat and crank up the Lynyrd Skynyrd. This is a chest-out, table-pounding call to arms for Orlando NFL fans who’ve spent way too long waiting for permission to care.
This is your permission slip.
OK, fellow Orlandoans, it’s time to jump on the Jagwagon.
Not tomorrow. Not in 2027.
Right now!
Because while you were busy debating the Orlando Magic’s defensive rotations, waiting for the MLS season to start and wondering why your three favorite college football teams — the Gators, Knights and Seminoles — couldn’t even make a bowl game, something real happened up I-95.
The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t just get good.
They didn’t just get hot.
They didn’t just sneak into the playoffs.
They are storming into them.
Thirteen wins. Four losses. Eight straight victories to close the regular season. AFC South champions. A home playoff game. One of the most dangerous teams in the NFL entering January. And, yes, they are hosting the great Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on Sunday like they belong on that stage.
This isn’t just some cute little run and a team playing with house money.
This is a group of men playing with purpose, swagger and the unmistakable look of a team that knows the door is open — and plans to kick it off its hinges.
And here’s the part Orlando needs to understand:
You’re not watching this from the outside anymore.
You have a dog in the hunt now.
Say it out loud:
The Jaguars will soon be coming to Orlando!
Not hypothetically. Not maybe. Not “Wouldn’t that be cool?”
No, they’re coming.
Camping World Stadium will be their home in 2027 while Jacksonville renovates EverBank Field. The league hasn’t yet rubber-stamped the team’s temporary relocation to Orlando, but everyone who matters already knows. NFL owners will approve it soon. The press release will come. The banners will go up.
So why, exactly, should Orlando wait until 2027 to act like the Jaguars matter? Why sit on the sidelines when the relationship is already forming? When the NFL itself is about to plant a flag downtown?
Let’s make some noise.
Let’s rock and roar for the Jaguars right now.
No, they’ll never be Orlando’s Jaguars, and that’s fine, but they can absolutely be our adopted team.
Our borrowed team.
Our step team.
And, honestly, isn’t that way more fun than not having a team at all?
Besides, this team is amazing, starting with first-year coach Liam Coen, who walked in and immediately changed the temperature of the franchise. Young. Charismatic. No panic. No excuses. Just smart football, aggression when it matters, and a team that gets better as the pressure rises.
If you haven’t seen it, go YouTube one of Coen’s post-game locker room speeches after a victory when he ends his talk with a fierce fist pump and a guttural, “How’s that feel!!!?”
Then there’s Trevor Lawrence, who has finally started to look like the franchise quarterback he was supposed to be when he was selected as No. 1 overall pick out of Clemson five years ago. Lawrence has gone from a QB who’d been responsible for more turnovers than a French pastry chef to a quarterback who has 38 touchdowns this season and only one interception in his last six games. He’s not just surviving games anymore. He’s owning them.
A lot has gone into the Trevor Transformation, but it started with Coen instilling an inner confidence in his quarterback with three simple words: “Cut it loose.”
And what about the defense? Nasty. Opportunistic. Fast. A pick-your-poison unit that leads the AFC with 22 interceptions and leads the NFL in stopping the run. Devin Lloyd flying around. Arik Armstead, Travon Walker and Antonio Johnson making quarterbacks regret life choices. A group that feeds off momentum and creates chaos.
This team can win ugly or win pretty. The Jags can grind it out or blow you out.
Best of all, this is a team that’s easy to root for, and our city is ready-made for the moment when we host them in 2027. I’ve written about it ad nauseam:
Orlando is the biggest U.S. market without an NFL team. We have a tourism infrastructure that eats mega-events for breakfast. We have a stadium that will be newly renovated when the Jaguars move in. We have luxury hotels, bars, restaurants, nightlife and one of the best airports in the world.
If you think the league isn’t watching how Orlando responds to the Jaguars, I’ve got oceanfront property on I-Drive to sell you. This is how cities change perception. This is how doors crack open.
“If we’re blessed enough to host the Jags in 2027 — and it’s not official yet — you couldn’t script it any better than this,” says Steve Hogan, the CEO of Florida Citrus Sports and the man mostly responsible for negotiating with the Jaguars to bring them to town. “We’re all rooting for them and are excited about where the team is right now. Orlando, if and when we get that opportunity to host the Jags, will show the country that we can successfully host an NFL team. It will be absolutely electric.”
But why wait to turn on the electricity and energy?
It starts with us acting like an NFL city — now!
Sunday isn’t just Jacksonville’s playoff game. It’s our playoff game, too.
So break out the teal swag.
Wear the colors loudly and proudly.
Start mindlessly hollering, “DUUU-VAAAL”
Lean in, Orlando.
Because if the Jaguars make some noise in the playoffs — and make no mistake, they absolutely can — we benefit from the glow, too.
You want meaningful football in our city?
You want playoff buzz downtown?
You want to show the league you’re more than a neutral-site novelty?
Then stop waiting for the invitation. This team is hot, this moment is real and it’s time to stop acting like an apathetic bystander.
It’s time to rock and roar.
The Jaguars are here — figuratively now, literally soon.
And I’m driving this Jagwagon, baby.
So hop on board, Orlando.
Next stop, beating Buffalo.
Final destination, the Super Bowl.
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on social media @BianchiWrites and listen to my new radio show “Game On” every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen