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How two Jaguars season tickets gave one fan a family, outlet for life

Becki Poff's dad bought her season tickets in 2002. He died in 2003 from cancer. Her dad's final gift gave Becki another "family." One she's leaning on every day.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A buzz blanketed the sea of teal at Sunday's Jaguars tailgate at The Slab. The buzz, cut when a red buoy bounced through the sea in a No. 15 Patrick Mahomes Chief's jersey. 

"Boooo," shouted Becki Poff and her 30 plus friends at their tailgate to a lonesome Chiefs fan walking by. 

“These are all my friends, who are my family. All these years," Poff said in between the boos.   

The Slab is home for Poff eight Sundays out of the year. "There's Jesse, 'JPaw!'" said Poff with a big smile. 

“She took me to London last year. We had so much fun, we got to know each other so much more and again without the Jags and this team I don’t know if we would have had those moments together," Jaguars fan, Jesse Pawlish, said. 

"Brogan, who I only get to see once or twice a year. These are my relief," Poff said about another friend, Brogan, who is from Missouri. 

Poff has been tailgating with her group for over a decade. 

Countless moments she shares every year with her father, David. 

"Hi, Dad!" Poff said with a bag of teal and gold flowers in one hand as she looked at his grave at the Jacksonville Memory Gardens in Orange Park. 

“This is kind of my homage to him cause he’s who really gave me my love for the Jags,” Poff said. 

“He bought my season tickets in 2002, which that was section 216 Row R.” 

“He did come with me to that first game to make sure I knew where my seats were at cause like I said he would have been sick by that point, and he passed away in 2003."

David, terminally ill with cancer, gave his daughter one final gift.

“Maybe he did know, I guess I never thought about what he gave me. Now, I have all these other people in my life that now are my family," Poff said. 

Her dad's grave fitted with teal and gold flowers; Becki shared a moment with her dad. 

Credit: Andrew Badillo

"Love you, Dad," she tearfully whispered underneath the silent wind. 

After a visit with her dad, Becki took a 15-minute ride to see her mom, Nancy, at her assisted living facility. 

Where every week, the two look back at memories. 

"Let’s see you were married what year?" Becki asked her mom. 

"1967," Nancy with a slow nod. "1967, to my favorite dad,' Becky nodded back. 

“We were in the same class in high school, he was throwing candy hearts at me it was true love," Nancy said.

Credit: Becki Poff
Nancy Poff (left) and David Poff (right) as kids.

She remembers her true love, David. It's other things, she forgets.

"Today is," Becky said while looking at a dry erase calendar. 

"Labor Day?" Nancy asked.

"Nope, that was Monday," Becky said to her mom, who has Alzheimer's.

“We found out in February of 2002 that dad was pretty sick," Becki said to her mom. 

"And that fall dad bought me my first set of Jaguars season tickets.”

“See this is stuff I didn’t know, dad was a conniver," Nancy said with a smile. 

Nancy and Becki sat on Nancy's two-seat couch to look at old pictures and share memories. 

“Here I am," Nancy said looking around her apartment. 

"Going to get sentimental," she said, her eyes filling up with tears.

"He's [David Poff] proud of you," Becki reassured her mom.  

“Love you,” Nancy said, holding her daughter's hand. 

Credit: Andrew Badillo

After visiting her dad's grave and spending time with her mom, Becki was able to take a deep breath at Sunday's tailgate before the Jaguars game against the Chiefs. 

“Like these are the people I talk to like I said when I’ve kind of reached that breaking point of I’m so upset or stressed out, I met my boyfriend through social media who's a Jags fan."

For Poff, she has family, old and new, to cry, laugh and remember with. 

Thanks to her dad's final gift: two seats in section 216 Row R. 

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