The city of Jacksonville plans to celebrate the Jacksonville Sharks’ Arena Football League championship with a downtown parade Thursday that will culminate with a party at the Jacksonville Landing.
After Mayor Alvin Brown proclaims it Sharks Day at 5 p.m., the team will leave City Hall for a parade to the Landing, according to Sharks majority owner Jeff Bouchy.
There will be no additional costs to the city’s budget for the celebration because all that’s needed is for quick shutdowns of intersections by on-duty officers.
The Landing will host a post-parade party and pay for it.
The Sharks won ArenaBowl XXIV 73-70 over the Arizona Rattlers on a last-second touchdown pass last Friday in Phoenix.
Bouchy said the team worked for three days with Brown’s office before deciding on Thursday for the parade.
“We talked about it before [leaving for Phoenix for the championship game], but I didn’t want to get ahead of it,” Bouchy said. “We were a little superstitious.
“It took a lot of work to put this together, but it’s a problem I hope we have every couple years.”
Every player and coach on the roster, except kick returner/wide receiver Jeff Hughley, will be part of the festivities. Hughley went home to Alabama Monday for his child's first day of school.
ONE FOR THE BOOKS: There's a reason last Friday's 73-70 win by the Sharks is considered by most as the best of the 24 ArenaBowl championships ever played.
Not only did 40-year-old quarterback Aaron Garcia win the game with a 10-yard pass to Jeron Harvey on the final play, but he helped shatter several championship game records, including: most points by a team (73), most combined points (143), most total yards for a team (413), most combined total yards (756), most passing yards (402) and most points scored in the fourth quarter (35).
Jacksonville also became the only team in ArenaBowl history to win after being down at halftime. It also is one of six teams to win the championship in its first appearance.
Finally, Garcia became the oldest player in ArenaBowl history.
Comments (14)
Add commentHope this makes the front
Hope this makes the front page!
I'll be there. Lets see how
I'll be there. Lets see how long it takes for all the haters and the nattering nabobs of negativism to start criticizing and complaining that this will cost tax payer dollars EVEN though the story clearly states no tax dollars will be used.
Go SHARKS!
Go Sharks :)
Go Sharks :)
I wish I could be there for
I wish I could be there for that. That was quite a game, though. Harvey was a beast all game. And I'm pretty sure that movie "Necessary Roughness" ended in almost the same fashion.
Have one for me, roadglide...
Well deserved....Way to go
Well deserved....Way to go Sharks.
Who cares if the parade cost
Who cares if the parade cost money. It's a great accomplishment! Congrats to the sharks!!
Great game... great event for
Great game... great event for the team and city... great work Sharks!
...and I look forward to seeing some of you there!!!
Let's hope they are "passing the boots" around during the parade - fire dept style!
Maybe some of the cheapos will open up their pockets for something other than bullets, tebow jerseys and doritos!!!
LOL
It was a great game on both
It was a great game on both sides - glad the Sharks came out on top !!!
Shark Day!!! duh dom.....duh
Shark Day!!!
duh dom.....duh dom......duh dom........
Congrats Sharks! I wish the
Congrats Sharks! I wish the parade could have been on the weekend so I could make it.
Jaguars...are you paying
Jaguars...are you paying attention? This could be you...if you want it bad enough! Go Sharks!!!
Go Jags!!!
I am so proud of these guys.
I am so proud of these guys. They are the absolute best! Very humble, and caring of their fans! I cannot wait until Thursday to show my appreciation. Jacksonville is truly shining right now! I hope a lot of people will turn out to support them! They deserve it!!!
Way to go SHARKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whiney weaver will be there
Whiney weaver will be there selling tickets for the jags. New ticket deal each ticket will be printed on toilet paper so you can wipe during the game. LOL.