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01-02-2005, 11:06
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Proud residents defend Super city
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 1, 2005 12:00 AM
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
The three men are from Jacksonville and darned proud of it. They know what people are saying about their hometown as it hosts Super Bowl XXXIX, marking its debut in the international spotlight.
"Tony Kornheiser said it smells like a trash can," said David Evans Sr., referring to a recent column by the crabby Washington Post columnist and ESPN commentator. "He's never been here. He's just running his mouth."
"Granted, we could have a little more nightlife," Gerald Caldwell said. "But there's plenty to do here. The pace of life here is perfect."
http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gif
Added Ed Richardson, "We've got the most scenic city,
by far, in the South."
As the sun emerged from a mass of clouds Monday, Evans, Caldwell and Richardson whiled away the lunch hour watching visitors flood Jacksonville Landing, a popular outdoor mall on the banks of the St. Johns River, which winds through this northeast Florida city. Evans, 67, serves on a mayoral committee for the disabled, while Caldwell, 40, and Richardson, 47, work for Wachovia Corp.
They're happy to have the revenue Super Bowl XXXIX promises to generate - in the past five years, the Super Bowl has brought an average of $181 million in direct spending and a total economic impact of more than $300 million to host cities, according to the NFL.
The Super Bowl also provides an intense spotlight, and that may turn out to be a mixed blessing for Jacksonville, which has been ridiculed for its ubiquitous Waffle House restaurants and for having to erect tents to create a nightlife and entertainment district downtown.
Visitors may come away with a skewed impression of Jacksonville if they don't venture beyond downtown, which might charitably be described as scruffy.
As pedicab driver David Sirk waited for customers outside the downtown Adam's Mark Hotel on Monday, he motioned to the mostly deserted waterfront.
"They've got a nice setup here," said Sirk, a New Yorker hoping to cash in on the Super Bowl. "It just needs development. There are two decent blocks."
Small town?
With a population of 750,000, Jacksonville is the smallest city to host a Super Bowl. Unlike Miami, its bustling cosmopolitan neighbor to the south, Jacksonville isn't used to the throngs that invade a city for the nation's biggest sporting event. Jacksonville's estimated 30,000 hotel rooms weren't near enough to meet demand, so the city is docking five cruise ships along the St. Johns to provide additional accommodations. Some fans are staying as far away as Orlando, a two-and-a-half-hour drive south.
Kornheiser apparently won't be among the visitors. And that's probably a good thing after he strafed the city in the Post last week.
"How did Jacksonville get the Super Bowl?" Kornheiser wrote. "What, Tuscaloosa was booked?"
The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville's major daily newspaper, returned fire Monday morning. With thousands of news media pouring into town and possibly preparing to file similar rants, a headline on a sports page column admonished visiting writers, "Take your best shot, then stop whining."
Meanwhile, metropolitan columnist Mark Woods begged the media, "Please, please make fun of our city . . . Please pigeonhole North Florida's residents into a neat little, small-town, Southern stereotype."
Those wishing to get beyond the stereotype merely need to speak to residents, who tend to be friendly and eager to make a good impression on visitors - especially "you Yankees," as Northerners are sometimes called here.
Asked what made Jacksonville a good place to live, Caldwell replied, "Cost of living. The weather. Southern hospitality."
"I think our greatest fear is that people will discover us, and they'll want to move here," Richardson said.
It could happen. This much is certain: If folks here tire of visitors' complaints, they merely have to wait until next year, when the Super Bowl moves to Detroit.
Read the full story (http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0201jacksonville0201.html)
Proud residents defend Super city
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 1, 2005 12:00 AM
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.
The three men are from Jacksonville and darned proud of it. They know what people are saying about their hometown as it hosts Super Bowl XXXIX, marking its debut in the international spotlight.
"Tony Kornheiser said it smells like a trash can," said David Evans Sr., referring to a recent column by the crabby Washington Post columnist and ESPN commentator. "He's never been here. He's just running his mouth."
"Granted, we could have a little more nightlife," Gerald Caldwell said. "But there's plenty to do here. The pace of life here is perfect."
http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gif
Added Ed Richardson, "We've got the most scenic city,
by far, in the South."
As the sun emerged from a mass of clouds Monday, Evans, Caldwell and Richardson whiled away the lunch hour watching visitors flood Jacksonville Landing, a popular outdoor mall on the banks of the St. Johns River, which winds through this northeast Florida city. Evans, 67, serves on a mayoral committee for the disabled, while Caldwell, 40, and Richardson, 47, work for Wachovia Corp.
They're happy to have the revenue Super Bowl XXXIX promises to generate - in the past five years, the Super Bowl has brought an average of $181 million in direct spending and a total economic impact of more than $300 million to host cities, according to the NFL.
The Super Bowl also provides an intense spotlight, and that may turn out to be a mixed blessing for Jacksonville, which has been ridiculed for its ubiquitous Waffle House restaurants and for having to erect tents to create a nightlife and entertainment district downtown.
Visitors may come away with a skewed impression of Jacksonville if they don't venture beyond downtown, which might charitably be described as scruffy.
As pedicab driver David Sirk waited for customers outside the downtown Adam's Mark Hotel on Monday, he motioned to the mostly deserted waterfront.
"They've got a nice setup here," said Sirk, a New Yorker hoping to cash in on the Super Bowl. "It just needs development. There are two decent blocks."
Small town?
With a population of 750,000, Jacksonville is the smallest city to host a Super Bowl. Unlike Miami, its bustling cosmopolitan neighbor to the south, Jacksonville isn't used to the throngs that invade a city for the nation's biggest sporting event. Jacksonville's estimated 30,000 hotel rooms weren't near enough to meet demand, so the city is docking five cruise ships along the St. Johns to provide additional accommodations. Some fans are staying as far away as Orlando, a two-and-a-half-hour drive south.
Kornheiser apparently won't be among the visitors. And that's probably a good thing after he strafed the city in the Post last week.
"How did Jacksonville get the Super Bowl?" Kornheiser wrote. "What, Tuscaloosa was booked?"
The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville's major daily newspaper, returned fire Monday morning. With thousands of news media pouring into town and possibly preparing to file similar rants, a headline on a sports page column admonished visiting writers, "Take your best shot, then stop whining."
Meanwhile, metropolitan columnist Mark Woods begged the media, "Please, please make fun of our city . . . Please pigeonhole North Florida's residents into a neat little, small-town, Southern stereotype."
Those wishing to get beyond the stereotype merely need to speak to residents, who tend to be friendly and eager to make a good impression on visitors - especially "you Yankees," as Northerners are sometimes called here.
Asked what made Jacksonville a good place to live, Caldwell replied, "Cost of living. The weather. Southern hospitality."
"I think our greatest fear is that people will discover us, and they'll want to move here," Richardson said.
It could happen. This much is certain: If folks here tire of visitors' complaints, they merely have to wait until next year, when the Super Bowl moves to Detroit.
Read the full story (http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0201jacksonville0201.html)