A Night with the Jacksonville Jaguars

It’s any fan’s dream to meet their heroes. And recently, I got to attend the Jaguars UK Live event. Let’s just say it was an amazing night for any NFL supporter… DUUUVAL!!!!!!! (Just kidding, I am still a Dolphins fan!)

Joined by Josh Allen, Evan Engram, Ayo Oyelola, 2022 Hall of Famer Tony Boselli and hosted by Sky Sports’ Neil Reynolds, it really was a star-studded line-up not to missed.

The evening began with some introductions and questions from both Reynolds and the audience.

One question to Josh asked: ‘Who is the best player you play with in Jacksonville?’

This specific question was somewhat misinterpreted by the defensive end, who actually went on to provide us with an answer as to whom is the best player he has played against. To this day, he said it was Raven’s QB Lamar Jackson, due to both his outrageous speed and strength, inside and outside the pocket.

Likewise, Allen was also asked: ‘Out of every QB in the NFL, who would you most like to sack?’

Josh stated how he would love to sack Brady at some point in his career but has yet to face the GOAT. And it seems unless the Jags miraculously make it to the Super Bowl this season, they will not be facing Brady’s Bucs in 2022.

Ambitious future for the Jaguars

Another question aimed at previous Pro Bowler Engram was: ‘How important is to have comradery alongside individual talent?’.

Evan deemed this a great question, answering that not all locker rooms are as together as the Jags seem to be. Getting to know each other on and off the field is just as important as having star talent and can make a huge difference when it comes to winning games.

Reynolds also asked Evan: ‘Give us one word to describe playing with Trevor Lawrence’, to which the Tight-End replied ‘Special’. He then went on to talk about rising star’s obscene arm power and commended the way the young QB carries himself.

Furthermore, it was amazing to see and hear about Tony Boselli’s 2022 entry into the NFL Hall of Fame. Boselli explained how it was a long process, emphasising how honoured he is to be there, and he hopes to see some of his old teammates join him in the near future.

He was also keen to note his optimism surrounding the appointment of new Jags Head Coach Doug Pederson. Boselli truly believes that Pederson, a Super Bowl winner with the Eagles in 2018, can turn this team around come 2022.

It was also great to see UK rookie Ayo talking about the player pathway. He stressed that to make it, you have to work 10x harder than everybody else, and focus on being the best player you can possibly be.

Likewise, he typified how his Nottingham Law degree has helped him develop as a player when needing to learn vast amounts of new information. For example, in Rookie camp, he was handed a 70-page playbook to learn in just 3-days.

At the end, I personally got to speak to Evan and Josh. Both seem optimistic and hungry for Jacksonville to make the postseason come 2022. The Jags last appeared in the playoffs in 2017, making it all the way to the AFC Championship game; where they lost narrowly, and controversially against Brady’s Patriot’s (20-24). 

Don’t miss out at the next event

In-between the questions and conversations, there were also some fun onstage fan games. The first entailed throwing a ball one end of the stage into a bin placed at the other (to which only Josh Allen succeeded).

And the second, judged which fans had the best touchdown celebration. All the fans involved were able to cop some fresh Jacksonville merch for participating.

If anyone can get to Manchester for this Sunday, I can’t stress enough that you should definitely attend Jaguars live, and I hope to attend more events like this myself in the future.

To find out more about how to get your tickets, click here.