Traveling up from Mount Dora to celebrate a sacred day at Jacksonville Jaguars training camp,Polarized Ray Ban Wayfarer? There was a time when this would have been considered the worst anniversary gift since a plastic rose from the corner gas station or a box of Whitman's from Walgreens.
Bortles, the local kid from Oviedo High and UCF, hasn't even taken a snap in a real game and he's already working miracles in Jacksonville. He's actually turned Jaguars training camp into a family vacation destination, but ...
Can he someday turn into a championship celebration destination?
For the first time in forever, there actually seems to be some optimism emanating from a franchise that suffered through years of mismanagement under former general manager Gene Smith. In fact, as training camp opened Friday, the Jaguars were still feeling the debilitating effects of Smith's inept regime. Wide receiver , Smith's final first-round pick in 2012, was arrested again on drug charges earlier this week after already being indefinitely suspended for previous violations of the 's substance-abuse policy. Go ahead and toss Blackmon onto Smith's mountainous junk heap of wasted draft picks.
To Jaguars fans, Bortles represents the anti-Blackmon. He's a role model, a leader and a winner who has never done anything to embarrass his family or let down his teammates. While Blackmon is well on his way to drinking and drugging his way out of the league, Bortles symbolizes hope to a fan base that hasn't experienced a winning season in six years.
Remember what Shakespeare once wrote:
"The miserable have no other medicine. But only hope."
The 2,000 or so fans who showed up for the festive first day of training camp cheered everything Bortles did Friday, even the interception he threw. Then again, Jaguars coach Gus Bradley also was impressed with his new quarterback in the wake of the miscue.
"Blake threw the interception and came back and threw a seam route with two guys on him and he put it right between them," Bradley said. "He made a great throw. That tells me something right there. He has no fear of failure and that's a really cool sign for a quarterback. We are going to make some mistakes, but it's how you respond to them. I really saw his competitive spirit first-hand."
Owner Shad Khan hired Bradley and general manager last season to undo all the damage done by the previous administration. Part of the massive reconstruction project entailed jettisoning former quarterback , another first-round bust who was 5-22 in three seasons as a starter in Jacksonville.
Two months ago, Caldwell and Bradley chose Bortles third overall in the draft to lead the moribund franchise out of the darkness in the wake of the Gabbert error, er, era. Bortles big, strong and athletic is part of the Jaguars' effort to remake the franchise's image. Every Sunday, it seems, the Jaguars want EverBank Field transformed into the world's largest outdoor pool party.
The new stadium renovation includes a fantasy football lounge, the two largest video boards in the world, two swimming pools and dozens of party cabanas. Coming soon: Bortles' swimsuit model girlfriend wearing a bikini to games and watching from the pool while sitting in one of those floating lounge chairs.
"I feel special to be a part of it," Bortles said of the Jaguars' remake. "What Gus and Dave and Shad have done here is create an atmosphere in a building unlike anywhere else in the National Football League, and it's been a special privilege to be a part of it. I'm glad that I'm here and being able to witness and be a part of everything going on here in Jacksonville."
Added rookie running back Storm Johnson, Bortles' teammate at UCF: "There's a culture change going on here in Jacksonville. We're trying to make Jaguars' football fun again."
Party cabanas and video boards are great, but nothing is more fun than winning. And that's all going to depend on how Bortles progresses as a quarterback. Considering Bradley plans on starting this season and slowly bringing along Bortles, it will be a while before we know just how good the new face of the franchise will be.
Stay tuned.
Until then, last one in the pool is a rotten egg.
Or, worse yet, a Justin Blackmon.
. Follow him on Twitter @BianchiWrites. Listen to his radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on 740 AM.