by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Attorneys might be the focus of National Football League news as owners and players work toward an agreement to start the season, but a local legal organization offered a different kind of assistance to the Jacksonville Jaguars Friday.
The Jacksonville Bar Association held its second annual “Paws and Laws” event to show its support for Team Teal and the Jaguars.
“The Jaguars are good for the businesses in Jacksonville,” said Ray Driver, an organizer of the event and incoming president-elect of The JBA.
He said the team was also good for local charities “and our civic pride.”
The JBA sold about 500 tickets to the event at the Terrace Suite at EverBank Field above the Bud Zone. Sponsorship dollars from the event will be used to buy tickets for underprivileged people for the upcoming season.
Though there was a sizable crowd, it was more difficult to attract attendance this year, said Driver.
“The lockout has made it tougher to draw people this year,” he said.
The lockout meant that Jaguars’ players couldn’t attend the event as they did last year, interacting with guests and signing autographs, but former Jaguar Tony Boselli attended the event as commissioner of Team Teal.
“We did great things last season with ticket sales and we need to keep that momentum going,” said Boselli.
“I heard some mayor in Toronto said he was going to talk to the Jaguars about moving the team up there. He’s an idiot. The Jaguars aren’t going anywhere,” he said.
Driver, Boselli and Macky Weaver, senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Jaguars, all urged the crowd to continue their support in order to keep Jacksonville out of the rumor mill.
“We were No. 1 in the NFL for new season tickets sold last season. We sold 17,000,” said Weaver. “What we did with that effort was take Jacksonville off that list of teams moving to places like L.A. or Toronto.”
Attendees also had the opportunity to watch the movie “My Cousin Vinny” on the video scoreboard, from the Terrace Suite or on a blanket on the field.
“It was a great event, thanks to the efforts of social committee chair Glen Warren, The JBA staff and our many sponsors,” said Driver.
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