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No chocolate for me

Join jaguars.com Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.

Brian from Jacksonville:
Have you seen the "Draft Tebow" bumper stickers? More importantly, have you purchased one?

Vic: Yes, one was sent to me. It was on my desk when Byron Leftwich stopped by to visit on Saturday afternoon. He looked at the bumper sticker and smiled, and I said, "How would you like to drive home from practice every day and see that on the bumper of the car in front of you?"

J. Keith from Palatka, FL:
I hope Brett gets the last laugh on everyone who's badmouthing him. Wouldn't it be funny if he finally brought a Super Bowl victory to the Vikings after four previous Minnesota failures?

Vic: That sure would be funny, J. Keith, but here's another funny one. What if his rotator cuff got a bigger tear in it and he couldn't play anymore? The Vikings would owe Favre $12 million. That would be hilarious.

Parker from Jacksonville:
Don't go over the top and play this whole would-Gator-fans-sign-a-contract thing. It would never work. The Jags couldn't tell everyone else in the league that they were targeting Tebow. The other teams would never let him fall to them.

Vic: The most amazing thing about all of this is the smugness.

Bob from Seattle, WA:
Could you give us a Letterman-style top 10 excuses for not buying tickets?

Vic: And the top 10 excuses for not buying tickets are: 10. I'm busy watching re-runs on Sunshine Network of every Florida-FSU game ever played, for the 300th time. 9. Leftwich, I mean Garrard, I mean whoever's playing quarterback for the Jaguars. 8. I like to watch the Jaguars on TV, so I can flip back and forth to the Florida-FSU re-run on Sunshine. 7. I went once, they lost and I vowed never to go back. 6. They always run up the middle. 5. It's too hot, except when it's too cold. 4. The stadium is too far from my TV and my refrigerator. 3. I don't wanna fight crows. 2. It's the economy, stupid, and after I pay the marina to take care of my boat and the lawn service to cut my grass, there's only enough money left to pay the homeowners association to plant flowers at the front gate. 1. Tim Tebow has a year of eligibility remaining, so I can use the draft Tebow excuse one more year before I have to find another number one reason why I won't buy tickets for Jaguars games.

Bill from Jacksonville:
I kept looking for "Ask Vic" on Friday, and then I realized it was the day of the golf tournament. So how did it go?

Vic: It went beautifully. The weather was great, Osprey Cove was in its best-ever condition, and attendance, once again, was at 100 percent. Jack Del Rio would be proud of this group because its commitment is complete. Not one registered player failed to show up, and I'm talking about an early-start event that requires players to darn near get up in the middle of the night. I am so proud of this group. They come to have fun and their attitude is infectious. I'm also extremely appreciative of Hampton Golf and Osprey Cove for their extra effort in making the event top notch. It's a homemade event, and thanks go to Bob Kessinger of Amelia Island Plantation for providing us with several Long Point certificates that were awarded as prizes, and to Jaguars equipment manager Drew Hampton for donating game-worn jerseys and hats to the cache of prizes. The event was sold out and there wasn't one no-show. How does it get any better than that?

David from Portsmouth, VA:
How is Michael Desormeaux doing and do you think he'll make the squad?

Vic: I like him a lot. He has football instinct and toughness. He needs a year to make the transition from college quarterback to NFL safety. I think he's playing for a spot on the practice squad.

J.D. from St. Augustine, FL:
From ESPN's Paul Kuharsky: "Press box food is all I can speak of. Jags often have a chocolate fountain with strawberries, pretzels, Rice Krispies treats, etc." I've heard about mustard and pretzels up north for years but never this.

Vic: I'm a hot dog guy. I will stray to a giant pretzel when available, as it will be this Thursday in Philadelphia, but my philosophy is that if you can't put mustard on it, you should not be eating it in a press box. The chocolate fountain embarrasses me. What self-respecting sportswriter would actually eat from a chocolate fountain in front of his peers? Give me a dog in dirty water any time. It's a tough game for tough guys.

Dennis from Jacksonville:
Doesn't that scoreboard issue in Dallas need to be fixed?

Vic: Yes, it does. Allowing punts to hit that monstrosity would be an outrage. It would be the ultimate example of athletic competition taking a back seat to entertainment.

Dan from Columbus, NE:
Has Troy Williamson earned himself a starting job for week one in Indy?

Vic: Why do fans want to rush everything? I've never figured that out. Yeah, I think he's probably won a starting job, but we're only talking about two preseason games, you know? It's not as though he just won the MVP in the Super Bowl.

Rob from Jacksonville:
We've seen a lot of passing by the Jaguars offense this preseason. I get it that the offense needs work in that area of the game, but will we see more of the true offensive play-call selection against the Eagles on Thursday, or more of the same?

Vic: You wanna see more runs, right? I think you especially wanna see more runs by Maurice Jones-Drew, right? Two carries for six yards in the first two games isn't exactly what I'd call a movement.

Keith from Jacksonville:
What would be the risk for the Jags to pick up the rights to Usain Bolt, just in case?

Vic: What rights? Based on his age, I'm assuming his draft status has expired. Nobody owns his rights and you can't acquire them any way other than by signing him, but why would he want to play football? The guy is worth millions as a track star. Why would he want to have his precious legs turned to kindling?

Ben from Jacksonville:
I know it's only the preseason, but I was shocked to see how empty the stadium was. Being a 15-year season-ticket holder, I am amazed at the apathy this town has toward the Jaguars. Do you see any way this team can continue to have these many empty seats and stay in Jacksonville? I am so disappointed in the fan base and the people of Jacksonville. We have hundreds of thousands more people who live here now than in 1995 and have lowered the seat capacity. It does not make sense that we cannot get 50,000 people to come to a football game in such a football crazy city. Your thoughts?

Vic: I'm not clairvoyant and I'm not going to attempt to guess at what the future holds, but I can tell you this: Empty seats are very, very bad. They are a major warning signal and they carry with them the unmistakable look of danger. This franchise was not founded on the premise of empty seats. If they stay empty too long, it would be a problem.

Norman from Orange Park, FL:
In the recent game against the Bucs, the radio announcer said in the second quarter that the Jags had just recorded their first first down. I thought a first down was awarded to a team any time an offensive TD was scored, which would have made our first first down recorded immediately following the TD pass on the first play of the game. Am I correct?

Vic: The Jaguars' first first down was, in fact, achieved on the 74-yard touchdown pass from David Garrard to Troy Williamson. A first down is awarded any time a touchdown is scored.

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