Bridgeforth Stadium Claims Its First Victim

The above picture was posted to Facebook by Todd last Friday afternoon. Nobody has seen or heard from him since. As many of you know, Todd was really excited about the new stadium. Really, really excited. He’d been looking forward to last week’s trip down to campus for months. He claimed that he was just stopping through the ‘Burg on his way to some race he was running in West Virginia. The truth was that he just had to see the upper deck with his own two eyes before last Saturday. You know, in case that whole rapture thing came true.

Todd set out for JMU last Friday morning with bright eyes and a clear mind. It was a drive he’s made hundreds of times. He probably arrived on campus about lunchtime, parked his car, and headed directly to the steps to take the picture. I can just imagine him standing there on the steps, full of pride like a man about to summit Everest. His hands were probably trembling as he brought the camera up to take the shot due to the massive amount of adrenaline rushing through his veins. And then he got it. The perfect shot was his. And I haven’t heard from him since.

I’m not sure what happend to him. Maybe he’s still there, unable to look away and determined to stand by until gameday in September. Maybe he was so overcome with joy by the experience that he’s wandering around the bowels of the stadium with an ear to ear grin mumbling “Bridgeforth…Bridgeforth.” Maybe he’s drifting through campus hugging complete strangers. I really don’t know. I miss him, but I know how much it meant to him to see the stadium. And because he saw it, I know that wherever he is, he’s at peace.