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Eric
05-17-2007, 10:38 AM
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=82203

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Hidden Places: Jaguars Equipment Room

By Grayson Kamm (http://www.firstcoastnews.com/inside/bios/kamm_grayson.asp)
First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Our Hidden Places series takes you pasts stadium security into the Equipment Room, where the Jacksonville Jaguars get the gear they need to take on the best in the NFL.

Buried beneath Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, back behind the locker room, is a place with racks and racks of teal and black.

Our guide in this restricted area is Mike Pellicer, who comes to work every day in the Jacksonville Jaguars' Equipment Room.

"This is where we keep all the jerseys. We have the game sets," Pellicer said, gesturing to a line of black, white, and teal game-worn jerseys hanging on a rack in the back corner of the room. Pellicer and his crew make sure the right names and numbers go on the right guys each week.

Getting tackled and trampled sure can do a number -- on your numbers. As the Jags' Assistant Equipment Manager, Pellicer's part of the crew that keeps the players looking sharp on the field.

"They get torn up pretty good," he said, reaching for a hanging jersey. "Especially guys like Maurice or Fred -- the running backs or the linemen."

The crew packs spare jerseys when they go on the road, but a tear during a game calls for quick thinking. "Most of the time, we try to stitch it up with a shoelace or something so they don't miss a play," Pellicer said.

A jersey will typically last through most of season. Other gear doesn't. Pellicer says the apparel companies give each player two pairs of shoes and three sets of gloves per week. When players are through with their shoes, Pellicer says the cleats are donated to the athletic programs at high schools around the First Coast.

This place is loaded with other gear, too. "Pretty much anything a player needs, apparel-wise. We've got shirts," he said, walking over to a cabinet and swinging open the door. Several shelves are stuffed with official Jags wear.

Other cabinets are similarly stuffed. "Got hats down here. Every different style -- every one you see in the store." "Polos for coaches." "Socks on the other side -- more socks than you can imagine." Racks in the back are stocked with helmet parts.

The wise coaches of the past call football a game of inches and say that every detail matters. Well, after every game, the equipment crew removes all of the foam pads and the facemask from a player's helmet. The shell of the helmet -- the part with the team logo on it -- is sent off to the manufacturer to be reconditioned. Then, the players' pads and facemask are attached to a brand new helmet shell.

The process takes about half an hour per helmet, and it's done for every member of the team.

Jerseys and helmets are the glamorous stuff, but "this is where the real work happens," Pellicer said, leading the way into the team's laundry room.

The monster machines here run nearly non-stop during training camp. Three washers can handle 55-pound loads. A fourth behemoth can clean 125 pounds of uniforms and other clothes at once.

All over the locker room, there are "hampers spread around," Pellicer explained. "The players throw the stuff in and we wheel them in and sort them, put them on the washer."

"We fill them up -- pretty much to the point where you almost can't close the door."

Countless hours sorting socks and jocks have made Pellicer a bit of a laundry expert when he shares the duties at home with his wife. "I tell her what to do when she's doing something wrong. I'm like, 'Listen. That's my job -- I do laundry for my job,'" he said, smiling.

Since the Jaguars get paid to lunge around on the lawn, grass stains are a constant challenge. But his crew faces another stain that's even more frustrating. "Some teams, they don't have nice grass like we do here. So they'll paint their field green so it looks good on TV. But it kills us," Pellicer said.

But that's just the way number 28 likes it.

Other guys may get rid of a beat-up jersey during the season. Not Fred Taylor. "He's superstitious about it. He thinks if he has a good game in a jersey, he doesn't want to come out of it," Pellicer said, holding up Fred's white jersey from the 2005-2006 season. "Look, it's all beat up and sewn more times than you can count."

And every stitch on Fred's uniform is the intricate work of Cornel Peters, the team tailor.

Peters keeps a sewing machine tucked in the corner of the Equipment Room. He fixes rips. He repairs tears.

"When they have a tough game, a contact game, some of the jerseys are messed up. Gotta fix it for the next game," he said.

Pellicer counts on his tailor's attention to detail. "He'll put [the jerseys] on a rack and just go through and check every little -- every little nick, he'll sew up," he said.

And it's Peters' careful stitching that truly turns draft picks and free agents into Jacksonville Jaguars. "I get to know about the new players before they get on the field. Before the public knows about them, you get to know them," he said with a proud smile. "You feel good. Especially when [the jerseys] fit them good."

Peters lays out the letters, picks out the numbers, and starts sewing. During our visit, after several minutes of meticulous stitching, Peters held up a teal number 25 jersey with the name "NELSON" perfectly placed across the back. He took former Gator Reggie Nelson out of orange and blue and dressed him in teal and black.

When the Jags' top draft pick takes the field this season, he'll be wrapped in protection and pride provided by the crew in the equipment room.

Friday, we'll finish our Hidden Places series by taking you inside the most exclusive hotel on earth. One room, one family per night. It's the Cinderella Castle Suite inside the magical castle at Walt Disney World. It opened just months ago, and it is more lavish and extravagant than you can believe.

Only First Coast News will take you inside, Friday starting at 6 a.m. on Good Morning Jacksonville.




First Coast News

Jags Fan Dan
05-17-2007, 12:30 PM
Very cool article! Makes me wonder further about the "game used" jersey cards out there, if Fred uses 1 jersey repeatedly, how can there be all of those game jersey cards out? Always nice to read about the Jags, especially as it pertains to the game used hobby. Thanks for posting this, Eric!:D

island_style
05-18-2007, 05:37 AM
Eric,

Great post! I don't really collect football equipment (except for a few Hawaii Warriors jerseys here and there), but these behind-the-scenes articles are great to read (as was the recent postings of the Twins players and their bats).

Anyone else with similar articles (any sport) or even their own behind-the-scenes game day operations experiences are welcome to share!

Kind Regards,

Ron.

Rsamiano@aol.com