open the season Sunday<\/a> at home against the hapless Cleveland Browns, and I\u2019m declaring right here and right now that this should be the beginning of Orlando\u2019s official adoption of the Jaguars.<\/p>\nWhy wait until 2027? Why wait until the Jags physically move into Camping World Stadium for a season before we start caring about them?<\/p>\n
That would be like showing up at the tailgate after the beer and barbecue is gone.<\/p>\n
No, Orlando, the courtship starts NOW.<\/p>\n
This is the season before our season.<\/p>\n
This is the season when Orlando needs to learn the traditions, buy the jerseys, practice the growl and start pretending we know exactly how to exclaim: \u201cDuuuval!\u201d.<\/p>\n
Simply put, this is the season when Orlando needs to become a Jags town.<\/p>\n
In fact, when I contacted Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer earlier this week, he even issued a mayoral proclamation to make it official:<\/p>\n
Proclaimed the Mayor:<\/p>\n
\u201cWHEREAS, the Jacksonville Jaguars are preparing to open the 2026 National Football League regular season against the Cleveland Browns; and<\/p>\n
WHEREAS, at the same time, our community is looking forward to hosting the Jaguars in 2027 when their stadium is under construction; and<\/p>\n
WHEREAS, Orlando is filled with football fans who are ready to turn out in full force to back the Jaguars, just like they support our hometown teams, annual bowl games and the Florida Classic; and<\/p>\n
WHEREAS, our community regularly comes together to hold successful events and we\u2019re already collaborating to make sure that Jaguars games are impactful here in Orlando; and<\/p>\n
WHEREAS, our efforts include renovations to Camping World Stadium, helping ensure it will be ready to host NFL regular season contests for the first time; and<\/p>\n
WHEREAS, we\u2019re excited cheer on the Jaguars this season and especially grateful for the opportunity to welcome the team in 2027;<\/p>\n
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BUDDY DYER, Mayor of the City of Orlando; hereby do proclaim Orlando as the second hometown for the Jacksonville Jaguars.<\/p>\n
Way to go, Mayor!<\/p>\n
Now, can we dye Lake Eola teal and rename I-4 the Jagwagon Express?<\/p>\n
Seriously, though, this is what makes this Jaguars season different for Orlando. We actually have skin in the game now.<\/p>\n
NFL owners voted unanimously earlier this year to approve Camping World Stadium as Jacksonville\u2019s temporary home for the entire 2027 season while the Jaguars\u2019 stadium in Jacksonville undergoes its massive renovation.<\/p>\n
Let that sink in.<\/p>\n
Next year, the Jaguars aren\u2019t coming here for an exhibition. They aren\u2019t coming here for some meaningless preseason game where the starters play three snaps and spend the second half wearing baseball caps.<\/p>\n
They are moving in.<\/p>\n
Real games.<\/p>\n
Real standings.<\/p>\n
Real playoff implications.<\/p>\n
Real NFL Sundays in Orlando.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s precisely why I say we shouldn\u2019t wait until next year to start waving the pom-poms. Let\u2019s get emotionally invested now!<\/p>\n
The 2026 Jaguars are intriguing, young and potential Super Bowl contenders. Coach Liam Coen is building something. Lawrence is still young enough to write the best chapters of his career. And there is enough talent and excitement surrounding this franchise to make the Jagwagon one of the more interesting rides in the NFL.<\/p>\n
So climb aboard before all the good seats are taken.<\/p>\n
For decades, Orlando has been the NFL\u2019s forgotten middle child. The Buccaneers once trained here at Disney, then packed up and went home to Tampa. The Dolphins are Florida\u2019s oldest pro franchise, but when exactly have they made Orlando feel like a priority?<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Jaguars looked south and said:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want Orlando.\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, guess what?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time for Orlando to say:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
We get to be real NFL fans with a real NFL team. Let\u2019s celebrate the touchdowns, scream at the interceptions, second-guess Coen, blame the officials when the Jags lose and behave exactly like irrational NFL fans are supposed to behave.<\/p>\n
And it starts Sunday against Cleveland.<\/p>\n
What better opponent to begin our journey than the Browns \u2014 a franchise that has been so bad for so long that their rebuilding project should qualify for historic-preservation status.<\/p>\n
The Jagwagon is freshly washed, fully fueled and ready to roll.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve got room for longtime Jaguars fans.\u00a0I\u2019ve got room for Bucs fans, Dolphins fans, UCF fans, Gators fans, FSU fans and fans without a favorite NFL team.<\/p>\n
There is only one requirement:<\/p>\n
When you climb aboard, you have to be ready to rock and roar.\u00a0Because 2027 will be here before we know it, and when the Jaguars finally come charging out of the tunnel at Camping World Stadium, I don\u2019t want Orlando acting like we\u2019ve just met.<\/p>\n
I want the place shaking and baking.<\/p>\n
I want the rest of the NFL watching on television and saying, \u201cGood grief, when did Orlando become a Jaguars town?\u201d<\/p>\n
Our answer?<\/p>\n
Last year.<\/p>\n
So let\u2019s start the engine, crack open a cold one, put on the Trevor Lawrence jersey and a fake Shad Khan mustache.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall me the breeze. I keep blowin\u2019 down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2026 Jaguars season is here.<\/p>\n
The 2027 Orlando season is coming.<\/p>\n
And your humble driver has only one question:<\/p>\n
Are you getting on the Jagwagon or are you getting left at the curb?<\/p>\n
All aboard, Orlando.<\/p>\n
Or should I say \u2026<\/p>\n
ROARRRRRRR-LANDO!<\/p>\n
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on social media @BianchiWrites and listen to my radio show \u201cGame On\u201d every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com\/listen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Roarrrrrrr-lando! Can you feel it, Orlando? Can you hear it? Can you sense the teal tidal wave beginning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397064,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[10575,121,1630,158225,119,139,141,140],"class_list":["post-397063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-jacksonville-jaguars","tag-jaguars","tag-jagwagon","tag-nfl","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}