JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars' distinguished, death-defying mascot has earned national recognition.
Jaxon de Ville is an inductee for the Mascot Hall of Fame.
More prankster and stuntman than responsible member of the team's staff, de Ville was the first NFL mascot to have traveled overseas to visit troops and he was the first to do a zip line jump into a stadium, according to the team. The mascot's bio jokes that fans have "fallen in love with Jaxson for his unpredictable behavior and his willingness to risk his life for their entertainment."
Former First Coast Living host Curtis Dvorak was the mascot for 19 seasons. Dvorak said there were only a few mascots in the league in 1996. He told First Coast News in 2019:
"A lot of the funny skits and things like that usually came out of the same type of jokes ... SNL skits. I loved SNL. The skits would come out of me and my buddies having a few pops and thinking, 'What do we think is funny, current event-wise?'" he said. "Let's do a skit on that."
He was also known for antics against the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts ... OK, well, 31 other teams. Former owner Wayne Weaver didn't back down though.
"Technically, it's the crowd's fault because they kept laughing," Dvorak said.
