Although the Jaguars have been in the league now for nearly three decades, the team is still considered one of the newest members in the NFL. Jacksonville was awarded a franchise in 1993 and their debut was made in 1995. Starting out firing on all cylinders, the new expansion team even beat seasoned veterans such as John Elway and Dan Marino in a successful initial five-year stint.
Since the inception of the team in 1995, the Jaguars kept a professional cheerleading squad called Jacksonville Roar which performs during their home games. The following year in 1996, the franchise introduced their mascot Jaxson de Ville.
Jaguars mascot Jaxson De Ville
Jaxson de Ville is spelt as ‘Jaxson’ since the city of Jacksonville is often shortened to Jax. He is a costumed yellow jaguar with teal-colored spots over his body. He wears cool black sunglasses, a Jaguars jersey with the number 00, long pants and shoes in black and teal colors. On the back of his jersey is his number and name Jaxson while the front has a big paw. On a few occasions, he has been seen wearing a different outfit, but generally, this is his go-to costume.
Jaxson de Ville has garnered a reputation for being somewhat of a daredevil mascot. He is quite popular for making dramatic entrances to the game. Some of his most dangerous stunts include bungee jumping from the lights of the stadium, parachuting into the stadium as well as sliding down a rope from the scoreboard.
He likes to be on his scooter most of the time while sometimes he has also been seen riding a golf cart. One of his favorite activities after a win is to go jump in the pool at TIAA Bank Field.
Jaxson de Ville controversies
Due to some of his antics, Jaxson de Ville has landed in a few controversies over the years. The Jaguars mascot is viewed as a very interactive mascot who is constantly engaging the fans and players alike. As a matter of fact, he once got into trouble in 1998 for mocking and joking about other teams' mascots. The NFL had to impose stricter rules for all mascots in general after that incident.
In spite of the rule changes, Jaxson de Ville was once again chastised in 2007 for getting in the way of others during a match with the Indianapolis Colts. In a funny incident that followed this game, Jaxson was put in a makeshift cage for the next home game and was only let out for short periods so he could entertain and interact with the crowd.
Further controversies include getting disqualified from the online NFL mascot competition where loopholes were found in the voting system enabling voters to vote for the Jaguars and Raiders mascots for an infinite amount of time.
The mascot once again made headlines for the wrong reasons in 2014 during the Ebola crisis when he held a sign ‘Towels carry Ebola’ and also held the Pittsburgh Steelers ‘Terrible Towel’. One of his latest controversies came against a game with the Baltimore Ravens in November 2022 when he wore a speedo with the American flag and danced provocatively.
Even so, the Jaguars mascot is a very popular figure of the team and he has a lot of fan following. Keeping the controversies aside, Jaxson de Ville makes many appearances throughout the year at parties, charity events, corporate events, schools, etc.
FAQs
A. The Jacksonville Jaguars mascot is a jaguar costumed suit who goes by the name of Jaxson de Ville.
A. The Jaguars' mascot Jaxson de Ville is famous for his dangerous stunts.
A. The Jacksonville Jaguars’ first season was in 1995 and they introduced their mascot in 1996.
A. The original person to play Jaxson de Ville is Curtis Dvorak. He played the role for 19 years from 1995 to 2015.
