DUVAL, Fla. — Foles Fever spreading in Duval
New shirts, new food items and a whole lot of excitement surrounding the Jags new quarterback.
Nick Foles has yet to take a single snap for the Jags, but that hasn’t stopped Foles Fever from catching in Duval.
“I’m excited for the Jaguars to get Nick Foles,” said Ben Taylor, owner of Taylor Tacos food truck. “I think it’s a great pickup.”
Taylor is so pumped he’s already drawing up a new play for his menu.
“We’re working on a Nick Foles taco right now,” Taylor said. “We want to welcome him into town and we have a Philly cheesesteak taco.”
It doesn’t stop there. One of the workers, Damian moved from Philadelphia about a month ago. He’s a diehard Eagles fan and even has a tattoo commemorating Foles’ super bowl win.
“We’re going to be following Nick Foles,” Damian said. “He’s our boy. We love him.”
Across town, there’s the Teal Man, one of Duval’s most-recognizable fans.
“I think it can open up a lot of big things, big plays, open up Fournette for some big runs,” Teal Man said. “The [opposing team’s] defensive backs are going to have to respect our quarterback.”
Of course, the flip side of this hero’s welcome is an uncertain future for Blake Bortles, who’s had his ups and downs, and could now be on his way out.
“I give a lot of respect to Blake,” Teal Man said. “He played his heart out.”
“I’m excited for him,” Taylor said. “He’s going to have a new opportunity and maybe that’ll help him.”
Bortles nostalgia aside, DTWD is already selling this Foles t-shirt online and a picture of a Bortles jersey modified with black tape to spell Foles is racking up the likes on the popular Instagram account @OnlyinDuval
Speaking of social media, a lot of fans have been wondering what would happen to the popular Twitter account @BortlesFacts given Bortles’ unclear path.
Jags fan Mike Tiscione who runs the account all the way from New York tells First Coast News he plans to keep the account and follow Bortles’ adventures wherever he ends up adding.
“He’s a guy who threw for more touchdowns in his win against Tom Brady (4) than the Rams had points against him in the Super Bowl (3),” Tiscione said in classic tongue-in-cheek fashion. “Blake is going to continue being a busy guy as he plays in the NFL while also serving as the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.”