• What’s happened to Scoop the Pelican? The Super Bowl mascot was getting good visibility at Jag games but has gone into hiding. It seems that the lingering question of a possible lawsuit from a company which used to make a toy with the same name has caused continuing problems.
• You’ll recall our story a few games back about the unhappy fans with seats under the free-drinking Bud Zone. There has been a slight improvement — a drape has been placed along the railing to keep some of the debris from falling into the seats.
• Jaguars fans got a chance to tape their own SportsCenter Sunday night. ESPN made several interactive kiosks available at Alltel, allowing fans to read a script from the sports show.
• Fashion note: the Jag cheerleaders brought out gold lame outfits.
• A large contingent of Bucs fans made the three–hour drive from Tampa, but there were plenty of tickets available outside the stadium. Those with tickets to sell said they received limited interest even though they were asking for less than face value. The announced attendance was 60,543.
• The pregame commemorative montage shown on the stadium’s jumbo screen featured footage of NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Wayne Weaver, Preston Haskell, UNF president John Delaney, Mayor John Peyton and coach Jack Del Rio. Conspicuously absent from the highlights was the team’s first coach, Tom Coughlin.
• A dunking booth featuring a heckler clad in a Bucs jersey was supposed to attract Jags fans, but there were more Bucs fans waiting in line. The reason? The heckler was wearing a Keyshawn Johnson jersey. The Bucs cut Johnson loose after he clashed repeatedly with head coach Jon Gruden.
• Former Jaguars receiver Keenan McCardell received a standing ovation from the crowd as he took a pregame lap around the field, high–fiving fans in the bottom rows. As loud as they cheered for McCardell, fans booed just as loud when Bucs defensive lineman Warren Sapp stepped on the field. McCardell, incidentally, will be back in town next week for a Winn-Dixie promotion at the chain’s Baymeadows grocery store.
• The referee took full advantage of the national TV spotlight, using the public address system to excess. The crowd erupted with laughter when he mistakenly left his microphone on while admonishing the Bucs to “clean that crap off the ball.”
• The teams played the third quarter through a smoky haze left behind by the lights–out, fireworks–and–laser show at halftime.
— by Bradley Parsons and Fred Seely