Clearly angered by the attention a recent attempted petition on the White House's website and an ad by an Orlando lawyer received when they pushed for the Jacksonville Jaguars to sign Tim Tebow, a fan group is having success with a countermeasure.
Bold City Brigade, which calls itself a new-age Jaguars booster club, has created a website, Evenifhesreleased.com. The name of the site refers to the answer new Jaguars general manager David Caldwell gave at his introductory news conference when asked about the potential to pursue Tebow.
"I can't imagine a scenario where he'd be a Jaguar, even if he's released," Caldwell said Jan. 10.
He's reiterated the sentiment this week in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, saying: "We just wanted a fresh start. We didn't want the same recurring themes coming up."
As of Thursday morning the new website had more than 31,000 clicks -- "Endorsements from REAL Jaguars fans that don't need Tim Tebow."
Bold City Brigade is two years old. The site went live late Wednesday morning in response to radio advertisements by Orlando attorney John Morgan urging owner Shad Khan to sign Tebow so the Jaguars can win "for the people," and an online petition on the White House's "We The People" website that had just more than 300 signatures before it was removed because it violated the site's "terms of participation."
"We are inspired to counter anything or anyone that chooses to attack or spread ignorance about our fan base," said John Caputo, president of Bold City Brigade. "We aim to do it in a tasteful and tactful manner, which represents our mission and members."
"... The website is a direct response to the petition and the lawyer's ad, yes. It is our response as actual season ticket holding die-hard Jaguars fans. It's not meant to be anti-Tebow as much as it's meant to show support and solidarity for Shad Khan and the team's vision for the franchise and its direction."
Many Jaguars fans are frustrated by the national media's continued repeating of themes that are inaccurate: That the Jaguars need help selling tickets when they haven't had a TV blackout in the past two seasons; that Tebow would fix that; that the city doesn't support the team; that the team is on the verge of a move to Los Angeles.
"Obviously it's frustrating to be constantly bombarded by the Tebow-mania," Caputo said. "Many die-hard Jaguars fans feel ignored. We feel like our voices are not heard because we tend to sit back and not do anything brash and in-your-face.
"The media knows what sells. If a petition started by a random guy in New Jersey that isn't even a Jaguars fan can get that much attention, then obviously we are fighting an uphill battle. The website is our way of saying to the national media: 'You want something brash. Well then, here.'
"Enough was enough. For three years we sat back and tried to be patient as it hopefully blew over."