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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Time to sing, folks

Join jaguars.com Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.

Andrew from Toronto, ON:
How are you going to begin building the same relationships with players, coaches and management that you have in Jacksonville?

Vic: The same way I built them here, I guess. It's the only way I know: Watch, ask, write. A reporter is represented by his work.

Emily from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL:
My husband told me to send you this note to thank you for the "read everything you can get your hands on" advice. He told our boys, who are big Jaguars fans, your advice over dinner and they both read for over an hour last night.

Vic: That's great news. Read what they're reading. Discuss it with them. Make it fun. The notion that the best readers are speed readers is ridiculous. The best readers are the ones that absorb what they read and I don't know how you can focus all of your concentration on what you're reading if your goal is to turn the page. It's not about how fast, it's about how well. When they start feeling what they're reading, they'll be hooked and they'll become better at everything they do because they'll know how to learn.

Ed from Jacksonville:
Why do Super Bowl championships carry much more weight than NFL championships before the merger?

Vic: They shouldn't and I don't think they do. This Sunday's Super Bowl teams represent the most league titles possible in a Super Bowl matchup. The Packers have won 12 league titles, the Steelers have won six. The Steelers, however, have won twice as many Super Bowls as the Packers have, but does anyone consider the Packers to have half the history and heritage the Steelers do? I don't think so.

Stirling from Sydney, Australia:
In your whole time covering the Jaguars, what was the franchise's best win?

Vic: Denver, in the 1996 playoffs. I don't think there's any question about it. It was a glorious victory. It's one of the great upsets in NFL postseason history.

Jim from Gainesville, FL:
Does your wife read "Ask Vic?"

Vic: No, but she knows I work for the Jaguars. I can say anything I want about her in this column and she'd never find out unless someone told her.

John from Neptune Beach, FL:
I've read your columns since day one and my son Andrew is now a faithful reader as well. After school each day, we talk about that day's "Ask Vic." He's developing an expanding understanding and appreciation of the game that is extending beyond simply playing Madden. I was thinking about what I could give him to extend that knowledge, so today I sent in a letter requesting he be put on the season-ticket waiting list for the Packers.

Vic: What a great gift. You'll never have to pay for it.

Stanko from Jacksonville:
If it's players not plays, then what makes a guy like Dick LeBeau legendary?

Vic: His players make him legendary because they're great, which allows him to design plays that will give them an opportunity to do great things. If he didn't have players of such distinct talent, LeBeau wouldn't attempt the sexy strategies that have made him famous. How did they work in Cincinnati? In Buffalo? There's no doubting LeBeau's talent to do great things with great players, but players always come first, then plays.

Brian from Jacksonville:
Where in the heck can I find the "Ask Vic" coffee mug?

Vic: I've been told they will be in stock today on jaguars.com, and more are on the way.

Damon from Thousand Oaks, CA:
When I heard that you were leaving the Jags, I was a bit on the fence about it, until your answer about Lombardi. That one answer changed my whole perspective about you and it showed me that there is more depth to you than all of us fans will ever realize. I'm going to miss your columns, your insight, your humor, your game-day blog, but most importantly your football knowledge. I have read "Ask Vic" every day for I don't know how many years now and I'm going to miss it.

Vic: I'm so glad you wrote in because I wanna give you back those two oaks I cut off. Now you got a thousand of them, again. Feel better?

Tim from Jacksonville:
I'm fortunate that my nine-year-old son is both a Jaguars/NFL fan and an avid reader. For Christmas, he received a Kindle rather than one of those mind-numbing game contraptions. He asked the other night to download a football book. What would you recommend for a boy his age?

Vic: At his age, I remember having read a paperback entitled, "Fullback for Sale." It was a kid's book, a sappy football hero story, but I loved it and it made me dream of being a football hero. I doubt you'll be able to find it but I'm sure you can find similar reading for your son. I remember having bought it with my paperboy money at a school book fair. In fact, I'll bet you can find that kind of reading in his elementary school library. Get him light reading. Let him dream.

Dhog from Jacksonville:
How many "Ask Vic" questions have been answered?

Vic: By my calculations, it's between 25,000 and 30,000.

Brandon from Jacksonville:
Which franchise do you think will get its first Hall of Famer before the rest, the Jaguars, Panthers or Texans?

Vic: I think the Jaguars have three candidates – Fred Taylor, Tony Boselli and Jimmy Smith – that are significantly better than any candidate the Panthers or Texans can currently offer. I would not consider Kevin Greene a true candidate for Carolina, since he only played briefly in Carolina. A player has to have been a long-term fixture on a team for me to link his Hall of Fame distinction to that team.

Tim from Jacksonville:
What about the fact that there's only 10-20 five-stars a year while there's several hundred two and three-stars?

Vic: Yes, there are a disproportionate number of lesser-starred players, but there are 52 five-star players on scout.com's prospects ratings for the class that signed on Wednesday, not 10-20. I think if you research the careers of five-star prospects, you'll see that a lot of them turn out to be busts.

Jonathan from Jacksonville:
Who was a guy you saw that had the most physical talent and athleticism but never really panned out on the field?

Vic: Larry Smith; he was loaded with quick-twitch power. He had star written all over him.

Ryan from Jacksonville:
I hear that Wikileaks is set to release information that cites your departure from Jacksonville as the primary catalyst for the recent uprising in Egypt. As a journalist, what's your opinion on Assange and the whole Wikileaks phenomenon?

Vic: It's my last day, Ryan, and I'm just trying to hold it together, if you know what I mean, huh?

Brian from North Mankato, MN:
I am grateful for the football knowledge you share with us each day, but I would also like to share my gratitude for the personal stories and humanity you have shared in your column. I currently work at a university in the upper Midwest and on our campus is a simple memorial to the victims of the Kent State and Jackson State incidents. Over the years I have heard many people wonder why such a memorial exists in a place so far removed from those events. I, too, passed the memorial many times with little thought until I read your column one day in which you pointed out that one's feelings on the events are a result of whether you believe those kids died for something they did or for something they believed.

Vic: An open mind is the gateway to peace. Tolerance is its steady companion.

Caleb from Tempe, AZ:
I once asked for your opinion about whether I should become a lawyer or a journalist, as I was discouraged by my father's insistence that journalism wouldn't pay as well as the legal profession. You replied, "Listen to your father." I am now a proud journalism and art history double major. So much for paying bills. Enjoy Green Bay, Vic. I'll follow you until you reach your mountaintop.

Vic: Hey, I'm not takin' the rap on this one. Welcome to the fraternity.

Brian from Jacksonville:
Could you leave us with some words of wisdom before you go?

Vic: When in doubt, buy the khakis.

Kevin from Jacksonville:
Are you taking the asterisk with you?

Vic: You know, some things can only be done once. The asterisk is one of those things. It will forever mean one thing and remind us of one week of our lives, which I still believe would've ended with a win had two passes not been dropped. The asterisk stays here. It remains locked in the 2007 season, where it belongs.

Steve from Jacksonville:
In my best Dandy Don singing voice, "Turn out the lights, the party's over."

Vic: Well, we've reached the finish line, folks. Thanks for allowing me to put my name on your column. Now, it’s time to sing.

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