Jacksonville Football History

So I'm running around before Christmas like a madwoman trying to get the last of my shopping done. My last stop, the very last one I had to make before everything on my list is bought, is Barnes and Noble.

As usual, I don't know where anything is so, as usual, I asked. When I checked out, I had each of the books I'd gone in for except one. No, it wasn't out of stock. Barnes and Noble didn't carry it and I was advised, neither does any of the regular bookstores.

"Publix has it."

Publix? A grocery store?

So, the next day I drove a few miles down the road and feeling like a complete idiot, explained to the woman behind the customer service desk that I was at Barnes and Noble looking for a book and . . .

. . . and smiling, she handed it to me saying, "This one?"

Jacksonville Football History

Before there were Jacksonville Jaguars, there might have been Jacksonville Colts. Or Jacksonville Saints. Or Jacksonville Oilers. Or Jacksonville Cardinals and there were Jacksonville Sharks and Jacksonville Bulls.

The pro football history of Jacksonville is far richer, deeper and more remarkable than most fans realize.

Described as a coffee table book, it's filled with photographs. But, there's plenty of reading on each page, too, and it's not one of those massive deals that takes up every inch of space on a coffee table's top. It's not really a coffee table book at all, but a slim, pigskin-covered book that's an enjoyable, easy read.

It's also quite an eye-opener when it comes to the behind-the-scene shenigans and scams pulled the USFL, and the ways in which many owners of the existing NFL teams used and abused Jacksonville and its love of football to get what they wanted from the cities in which their teams were already located.

And quite timely, the story behind the presentation that won the NFL's vote on J'ville hosting the Superbowl this year.

Jacksonville Football History can be ordered online here. A bit pricey, you can save yourself $10 by buying it at one of the locations listed, or stop by Publix.