The Jacksonville Jaguars may be at the bottom of the league when it comes to popularity, but fans around the nation recognize their mascot, Jaxson de Ville. Since the Jags became an NFL franchise, he’s been the Evel Knievel of the NFL, constantly wowing the crowd with his daredevil antics at TIAA Bank Field. And as challenging as those stunts are while donning a cartoonish costume, he looks cool doing them.
In a recent ranking of the league’s mascots by The Athletic, Jaxson was able to crack the top-10 of Rhiannon Walker’s list (No. 8 to be exact) for his look. That put him behind Buffalo Bills mascot, Billy Buffalo, who came in at the No. 7 spot, and ahead of Detroit Lions mascot, Roary.
Thoughts: I see exactly what you did there, Jacksonville. I see you, and I commend you 😏. From yours truly, InstantRHIplay. Jaxson looks cool as the other side of the pillow, but you know what isn’t cool, though? A sign that says, “Towels Carry Ebola.” If it’s not too obvious, maybe don’t make fun of the current crisis we’re in with coronavirus.
As mentioned, there was one insensitive faux pas that set Jaxon back: the 2014 incident in which the mascot referenced the Ebola crisis with a sign that read “Towels Carry Ebola,” a remark that came across as tone-deaf during the outbreak. The optics of that mistake are no better now, but Jaxon thankfully appears to have learned his lesson.
That terrible mistake aside, it’s worth noting that Jaxson has put a lot of smiles on the faces of Jags fans through a period of time where the team has been hard to watch. And he has a good relationship with kids — a key part of the job. When combining those reasons, it wouldn’t be a shocker to see him make the top-8 of other rankings, if not higher.
