JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — To keep it simple, expectations are high everywhere you go, from both a fan perspective and a business standpoint. Local sports gear store, Sports Mania in Jacksonville Beach, says they already have Urban Meyer apparel ready to be shipped to the store this weekend.
With the energy that he brings along with having the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, he says this is just the beginning.
“The market has got to be as hot as an iron, we need to strike right away and we need it in store this weekend,” owner of Sports Mania, Mathew Smith, said.
From the moment Urban Meyer arrived in Jacksonville and became the head coach of the Jaguars, Smith said he stopped everything he was doing and went into production mode.
“We’ve got an Urban nation T-Shirt being printed on teal and we are paying for overnight Saturday delivery, they are being printed as we speak right now.”
Smith says when the team is playing at a high level, their numbers are sky-high.
“Winning football games brings the paycheck to a business like us,” Smith said. “Realistically when you coach a football game or have a home playoff game, that increases the number by at least 30 percent.”
Dial it back three years when the Jaguars won the AFC south. Sports Mania was moving nonstop. Smith says he could see that happening again.
“2017 was huge, we had about 3 registers running at least 10 people in line at all times,” Smith said. “I would get products in and sell out on the daily, man that was fun.”
Smith says they are already banking on over 400 Urban Meyer t-shirts coming in, adding this is something he hopes the city can get behind for years to come.
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