JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — The Jaguars' loss to the Titans cost fans the chance to see the big cats in the playoffs. For one local business owner, it cost him a lot more than that.
“It’s been tough getting out of bed, sad, depressing," said Sports Mania Owner Mathew Smith.
Smith thought he’d start his Monday morning expediting shipment on hundreds of Jaguars AFC South Champions hats and shirts.
Instead, the day was all about cutting his losses.
“Win and in you’re in is a really easy saying that we heard all of last week," said Smith. "When we don’t win, we are really out. We threw a seven on the craps table, and now we have a lot of nice T-shirts to look at.”
Smith says he had about $50,000 in Jags playoff merch pre-ordered. He’s hoping he can get about half of that canceled.
While the loss meant zero fun for Smith, one fan did have quite the adventure for the Week 18 game.
Gabe Garcia won a sweepstakes for a private flight to Nashville, tickets to the game and a night in the same hotel as the Jaguars players.
“The trip was awesome," said Garcia. "It was just the trip of a lifetime I thought it would be. Unfortunately, as we all know, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but I’m still pretty proud of the Jags.”
Maybe when Smith finally finishes counting his losses, he’ll share that same positive outlook.
“Next year, we’ll be doing all we can to win the division and keep things going all the way to the Superbowl," said Smith.
Smith says one of these years he won’t have to cancel the Jags Superbowl order, and he’ll have this place overflowing with 10,000 T-shirts for the occasion.