• The “Flap-Jax”promotion by Winn-Dixie was welcomed by the fans, but not for the right reason. The mitts were supposed to be a way to cheer on the team (by opening and closing your hand, the thing would show either “GO” or a drawing of a Jaguar) and fans found a better use: as a fan in the 90-degree heat. There were 40,000 available and gatekeepers made sure all were given out — in fact, they gave people a half-dozen if they wanted.
• A cartoon on the team’s locker room bulletin board may have told the frustration of four straight losses: It pictures two vultures sitting on a cliff over a desert and one is saying “Patience my a__, I’m gonna kill something.”
• The team has made a good effort to entertain fans before the game. There were six bands Sunday and numerous games inside the gates before the game. Also appreciated: big portable toilets titled “The Signature Series.” One band featured a man playing a washboard which was strapped around his neck. Another had a rather oversized lady with numerous tattoos. The longest line was for free Hardee’s T-shirts.
• Quarterback Byron Leftwich got a big vote from receiver Jimmy Smith: “I’m a veteran. I’m 34 years old, and I listen to what he says. He takes charge in the huddle.”
• And, lost in the glow of the victory was deposed quarterback Mark Brunell, who quietly slipped out after the game.
• The San Diego media was grumbling about the late appearance of Coach Marty Schottenheimer in the interview room but there was a reason: he couldn’t find it. The visiting coach gets a small storage room which links a hallway with the locker room, and Schottenheimer went out the front door instead of the side door leading to the room.
• Moonlighting at the game: Holly Keiter, the building manager at 11 E. is a bartender in the Bud Zone.
• The annual Jaxson de Ville halftime birthday show brought mascots from other teams to the stadium and most looked like people wearing costumers. Exceptions: Jaxson and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ Raymond. In-between: the Super Bowl Host Committee’s new mascot, Scoop the Pelican.
• Small diversion: two very fat pigeons spent the game flapping around on the field, occasionally getting close to being trampled.
• The Chargers’ David Boston scored two touchdowns and it was retribution for the receiver — before the game, the guy in the dunking booth was wearing a Boston No. 89 jersey.
• The announced crowd was 48,000-plus but the East Club seats were sparsely occupied and there were seven unused (and presumably unsold) skyboxes on that side.
• Next week: the Miami Dolphins are here for a 1 p.m. game. Despite the hefty number of Dolphin supporters expected, expect another television blackout.
–by Fred Seely and J.Brooks Terry