William & Mary Tribe/Griffins: JMUSB CAA 2010 Football Preview #8

Hey William & Mary readers, and we know you’re out there, enjoy those two lil’ feathers while you’ve got the chance cause they’re now collectors items.  But JMUSB has a very special treat for you today as my brother Tim, himself a proud W&M alum, has proven once and for all who has the real talent in our family.  At least the talent to leave the type of blistering rants and Griswoldesque bits of trivia our friends and family have come to expect (and hate, make fun of, and sometimes even learn to love).  So our featherless friends, this long-assed, but humorous post is for you.

 

Basics: William & Mary is led by the legendary (at least by Colonial reenactment village standards) Jimmye Laycock.  No, that “e” is not a typo.  He played at W&M in the late 60’s and has been the Head Coach since 1980. While some schools (Notre Dame) may blather on about how difficult it is to win while maintaining the illusion they have higher academic standards than their peers, Laycock’s teams have actually won and lived up to the College’s lofty expectations off the field.The Tribe return arguably the CAA’s best RB in Jr. Jonathan Grimes and most of their back seven on defense including CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year B.W. Webb.  Certainly lots of talent on the roster, but they’ll be attempting to replace the strongest parts of last year’s FCS semi-final team in QB R.J. Archer and 3/4 of the no-doubt-about-it best defensive line in the nation.

 

JMUSB Prediction: 7-4; 5-3 CAA  Ridiculously brutal schedule, especially down the stretch.  They miss Towson, one of the conference bottom-feeders, and they really need to hope whoever steps in at QB is ready to go at UMass to open the season because they absolutely must be 5-1 when they get to their bye week October 16th.  Down the stretch they play Delaware, @ North Carolina, @ New Hampshire, @ JMU, and finish hosting Richmond.  I say Laycock has ’em ready for the opening stretch, they struggle the second half before getting back into the discussion with a win over the Ticks.  Now on to the good stuff. 

 

  

1) WM football games – what’s the tailgating scene like?  Is there any?  Where?  Any particular traditions?    

 

In order to understand the tailgating scene and level of student dedication, a brief history is in order.  Unlike many schools, W&M’s famed Zable Stadium could not have lights at the stadium during my college experience.  Rumor has it this was because the crazy “colonials” felt lights would ruin the “historic aura” of downtown Williamsburg.  Therefore, almost every game was at noon or 1:00 p.m. (Footnote, portable lights were brought in for the Tribe v. Dukes playoff game in 2004 which led to permanent lights the following season).      Due to the early hour, the tailgating tradition was to consume 6 kegs prior to kickoff, beginning at 9:00 a.m.  Once kegs were banned from campus, this changed to a tradition of consuming 6 handles of liquor.  Most fraternities have similar traditions and are ideally located for tailgating.  They are located between the largest parking lot on campus (basketball arena) and the stadium.  This led to such proud traditions as the old “Hitting charcoal bricks with golf clubs at VMI cadets walking to the stadium.” 

 

2) Best beer options in W’Burg? 

 

Green Leafe Cafe, especially on Sunday Mug Night.  The Leafe is a must for visitors and old guys like us.  Located across the street from Zable Stadium it has over 60 drafts and an even larger bottled beer selection.    Locals secret: Next to the Green Leafe is the Hospitality House hotel (“Ho House”).  There is a bar on the ground floor now called the 415 Grill.  In the back of the bar is a shuffle puck table and they have a decent sports viewing area at the bar.  The shuffle puck (mini shuffle board) is great free entertainment after the game before you hit the Leafe.  (ed. note: What’s with the extra “e”?) 

 

3) Carroll’s restaurant – fine dining or storage depot for a Medellin cartel? 

A. Carroll’s Bistro was formerly one of the best places to eat in Williamsburg.  However, once the owner was incarcerated, the chef left for greener pastures.  The name is now Alize Bistro and the martinis are a mere shadow of their former greatness.  Stay away! 

Instead of best player during my time, I will discuss the best game I witnessed during my tenure.  November 24, 2001.  During Thanksgiving Break, the Tribe took on the Villanova Wildcats on a rainy Saturday in Williamsburg.  The Tribe pulled off a late win against the Wildcats and their star Brian Westbrook.  During the game, Westbrook broke the all-time NCAA record for all-purpose yards.  However, it wasn’t enough and the Tribe won 47-44.  This was the last regular season game and the win resulted in the Tribe being A-10 co-Conference Champions (with Villanova) and qualifying for the I-AA playoffs.

Best player: I just missed seeing Darren Sharper at W&M.  I would consider him the best player around my time without question.  He played on the same W&M team as Mike Tomlin and Eagles def coord. Sean McDermott.

Best coach: Jimmy Laycock, hands down.  However, Lou Holtz led us to our last bowl appearance in the 1970 Tangerine Bowl. (Marv Levy also coached the Tribe, but I’m quite sure they were The Indians still in his time) 

No question, Richmond is the biggest rival.  The winner now takes home the Capital Cup (formerly the I-64 trophy).  The schools have played each other 119 times since 1898 and is The South’s Oldest Rivalry.  The rivalry is the fourth oldest in college football.  Historic Note: Both cities have been the capital of the Commonwealth.   This will not change when ODU comes to town.  However, the modern rivalry with JMU has quickly grown to a close second.

This was our App. State v. Michigan!  After getting over the initial shock of seeing so many Lacoste shirts in one location, I was able to focus on the game.  The Tribe was simply the better team and there was no question they had the better coach.  Having attended a number of college football rivalry games (WVU v. VT, WVU v. Pitt, FLA v. GA, FLA v. LSU, etc.) I feel UVA could be more successful if they made Scott Stadium more intimidating.  Somehow, fear doesn’t course through your veins when Dave Matthews is played during breaks and the students are in dress shirts and ties sipping wine coolers.  However, the female student body in sundresses is a wonderful tradition and should never cease!  Maybe JMU will have their big win this year in Blacksburg…probably not.

After having only lost two games all season, I felt we really had a shot at the national title.  The loss to JMU in ’04 was tough but it was nationally televised and was the first night game.

These questions are intertwined.  Apparently, if an institute of higher education is located in an area where Indians, I’m sorry…First Americans, are extinct, you must change your mascot.  However, if a few Indians are alive and well in that area, you can offend them by having a white guy dressed up like an Indian ride a horse to midfield and throw a flaming spear in the ground.  I’m sure all the Indian nations were grossly offended by W&M being called The Tribe (which we still are) and having two ubiquitous feathers behind the letters W&M.  Thank you NCAA!  By making us remove our feathers from our logo, you have single-handedly made up for such smaller incidents like the Trail of Tears, smallpox, taking all of their land, and unoffensive professional team names like the Redskins.      I was in favor of either the Wren (named after the oldest building on campus) or the King and Queen.  Could someone please tell me what a Griffin has to due with my school?  At least our mascot isn’t the Phoenix.