Eight Teams Left, But Only One Of Them's Worth A Damn
Why the Jacksonville Jaguars will be your Super Bowl LVII Champions
Saturday night was the best night of my life. It was likely the best night of your lives, too. This world was given the gift of witnessing one of the greatest comebacks of all time and the birth of a star. The savior we needed. A prayer answered. The prince that was promised.
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 27-point comeback win erased the last shred of uncertainty surrounding Trevor Lawrence. All nay-sayers were laid to rest, as Number Sixteen tucked them into bed all warm and cozy-like, where visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
Picture this…
It’s a muggy morning in north Florida. After a healthy Saturday of rainstorms, a bright orange Sun cooks up humidity levels in 90% level. A small group of 20-something-year-olds builds up a comfortable sweat as they pack their coolers before making the trip to Lot J outside of TIAA Bank Field to drink cheap beer and eat Publix subs. Each member of this group has individually seen more losing football than all Steelers fans combined. Despite the Jaguars only having a winning record once in the past 13 years, this group still shows up to support.
Fast forward to 3 days ago… that same group rose before the Sun on a brisk January morning to fill their coolers with Casamigos and lime wedges. Despite a 8:15 PM local time kickoff, they were at the Slab to pregame the tailgate at 1 PM. They watched their alcohol intake because, as much as they wanted to have a good time, they wanted to be alert for and remember Trevor Lawrence’s first playoff game. As the Sun set on Duval County, they joined the herds of Jags fans pouring into the Bank and took their seats.
In the blink of an eye, the game was over. Trevor threw 3 interceptions in the first quarter and a 4th midway through the second quarter. The young padawan looked rattled, to say the least. How does a kid my age hold on to his confidence in a time like this? Forget his growth, his recent success, and his calm, cool, collected attitude in the face of fear and adversity. How does a performer—that’s what athletes are after all—pick himself up off the mat after such a devastating start? If a Broadway actress started her show off forgetting her lines, missing notes in her solo, and tripping over her feet in the dance number, how would she rescue her mind from slipping into the doubt and pressure of the bright lights? If Michael Phelps leapt off the starting block into the Olympic pool and belly flopped, how could he push himself to try and catch up?
My brother started talking about the possibility of Pederson benching Trevor. I started rationalizing every take I’d made and dreaded opening up the group chat for fear of humiliation and embarrassment. I didn’t want to deal with the haters and losers—of which there are many—who desperately wanted to tell me that they told me so. Was my savior gonna get benched at halftime of his first career playoff game? Was everything that happened in the past 5 weeks only because we hadn’t played against an elite quarterback? Are we still the Same Old Jags?
On the advice of my legal counsel, I would like to let the following Tweet answer those questions:
Bring on the Chiefs.
I’m going to Waffle House this Saturday morning!