Mike Bianchi: The Jaguars stole Orlando — and now the jealous Buccaneers are starting to pay attention
ORLANDO, Fla. — There’s an old saying about relationships: If you ignore someone long enough, eventually they’ll find somebody who won’t. Which brings us to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the city of Orlando and, suddenly, the Jacksonville Jaguars — the shiny, new team taking the City Beautiful out on the town in 2027.
And make no mistake about it: The Bucs right now look a lot like the jealous husband who just realized the mistress he took for granted has moved on. The Jaguars’ huge announcement last week that they will play the entire 2027 season at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium while their own stadium is being massively renovated should be a celebratory moment — and it is. But it’s also something else: a flashing neon sign exposing how badly the Bucs have fumbled one of the most valuable untapped NFL markets in the country.
Let’s call it what it is. Orlando is the biggest media market in America without an NFL team. And for years — decades, really — it has been sitting right here, just 85 miles down Interstate-4 from Raymond James Stadium, practically begging the Buccaneers to claim it, cultivate it and turn it into an extension of their fan base.
Instead? The Bucs flirted. They held training camp here for a while and teased a relationship.
And then, just like that, they packed up, moved camp back to Tampa, and largely disappeared from Central Florida as if we were just some meaningless summer fling who they’ve now ghosted for nearly two decades. Out of sight, out of mind. So now here comes Jaguars owner Shad Khan, rolling into Orlando with a full season of meaningful NFL football — not preseason fluff, not exhibitions, but real games that count in the standings — and suddenly the Bucs are expected to just smile politely and pretend this doesn’t sting?
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