JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jaguars fan — who one might consider a super fan — is on the road with two others to take in Saturday’s matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The drive from Jacksonville to KC is nearly 17 hours, and that’s not counting any stops along the way. But David Mendenhall says he’ll do whatever it takes to root on the Jaguars in person. He added they are looking to get into town between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m. Friday night.
Mendenhall said driving long distance is his thing. He used to be a a driver for a moving company. Now, he spends his time on the road traveling to different games.
“I just love my team,” he said. “I have the passion. Every time I go out there just to feel the electricity and the fans, seeing the players out there working as hard as possible, I don’t know what it is about it, but it just gets me going and I love it.”
Mendenhall doesn’t have just any den, but one that’s covered in Jaguars jerseys. The walls are painted teal and filled with lots of memorabilia.
On a scale of 1-10, Mendenhall says, he’s an 11.
“There’s nobody bigger than me,” he said. “I love my Jags. I’ve been with them since ‘95, and I’m ready to cheer them on to the Super Bowl.”
When the Jaguars beat the Chargers, it wasn’t even a question of whether he’d make it to their next game.
“It’s going to be my wife and one of my best friends, Josh. We’re heading up there. We’re driving straight through,” Mendenhall said.
The gear is packed with bags, pillows, blankets and duval gear — ready for the cold weather. And his truck is also decked-out to bring the team spirit to the Midwest. Mendenhall wrote on his back windshield, “Pack your kids, pack your wife, we are headed to the game of our life.” He is also bringing 35 rally towels with him to pass out to fans who are going to the game.
“I mean look what we did against the Chargers,” Mendenhall added. “They’re a great team. We went down from 27-0 to win the game. The determination is in our locker room. These guys want it. They’re hungry. There’s no stopping us.”
To pass the time, Mendenhall said they packed a lot of snacks and will be listening to Pandora music. He added it will be nice to relax and focus on the road. When the three get into Kansas City they plan on going to the Jaguars tailgate parties. Mendenhall said they will also go to Arrowhead Stadium to record a hype video before the game.
Mendenhall said he is expecting to see a large crowd of Jags fans at the game on Saturday. He knows about 500 people from a Jags fans FaceBook group in town are planning on going as well.
Scott & Jamal live in Kansas City
News4JAX reporter Scott Johnson and sports anchor Jamal St. Cyr will have pre-game coverage from Kansas City. Their plane touched down Thursday night, and Jamal stopped for a moment to check in: