Guest Blogger: Putting Harrisonburg on the Pigskin Map
Reader Mark Steidler came came closest to predicting the final score of last weekend’s game against URI. As a result, he won the right to guest post. Bookmark his personal blog here and check out his thoughts on elevating the JMU football program below.
Every four years, we’re faced with a choice.
The choice is more paramount than spicy or mild, single ply or double, Empire Strikes Back or Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s a choice which we must be able to defend, which we must see through to the very end, and which we must ultimately bear the burden of responsibility. It’s not as easy as black and white, but rather as bold as purple and gold.
Just four games into the season, preseason expectations backed up by on-field performance have forced our hand into prematurely making this choice: do we once again buy into the four-year cyclical success of Mickey Matthews’ football programs or idly stand by and scoff at their accomplishments because our subdivision prevents us from playing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.
Yes, once again, JMU has aligned their “high expectations meets high performance” campaign with the presidential election cycle, challenging the Redskins Rule for the top slot as Nostradamus of November. As a refresher, you may recall 2004 as a time when swift boats dominated the airwaves and Rascati swing passes dominated the A-10. Just four years later, we gushed at the promise of hope and change, only to experience an untimely change in quarterback in our most pressing moment. And, now, in 2012, we’re told that not only are 47% of Americans dependent on the government and believe they are victims but also that our team is capable of having 47% of our first downs come from passing plays (Check the Rhode Island box score. It’s crazy).
For me, the choice of whether or not to embrace this program, to buy into its legitimacy, and to expect, nay, demand success is not a choice at all. I see the great things that the past, present, and future Dukes can do for the world. I see an underrated institution that has yet to maximize its potential. I view our football program as an important extension of our university, an essential component of our marketing mix that can one day capture a share of the national spotlight that so many other schools already bask in. And I wonder why any JMU grad would not invest a few hours of their Saturday into rekindling their relationship with the site of some of the best years of their life.
Perhaps it’s because we haven’t worked out all our issues. We’ve certainly had our moments of success, but too often those are overlooked as minor footnotes due to our division, stadium size, and proximity to bigger, mainstream teams. But that all can change.
In honor of the proven five point post, here’s five simple ways we can re-energize our program and put Harrisonburg on the pigskin map.
1) Balance the Fanbase – No college football program is sustainable based on their student population alone. Most successful programs have a seamless integration with the community around them. Towns benefit from the important revenue streams and enhanced sense of community while the school gains more butts in the seats on Saturday afternoons and a pipeline of future fans that may never even step foot on campus as a student.
Harrisonburg, on the other hand, has always seemed to have a quirky relationship with JMU. And that needs to change. JMU should be doing everything it can to incentivize families, businesses, and politicians to participate in the game day experience. Call JMU football what you want, but our fans have never been described as anything less than warm, inclusive, and hospitable. Let’s begin making the Dukes not JMU’s team, not Harrisonburg’s team, not Rockingham County’s team, but Western Virginia’s team. The way John Denver intended it.
2) Standardize Game Times – 1:00 games? I either have to stay at the luxurious Port Republic Days Inn the night before or leave at 7:00 AM to get in a proper amount of tailgating. 7:00 game? I’m not getting home until after midnight and half the students are leaving for Ashby by that point. 4:00 games, however, are the goldilocks solution – not too early, not too late, but just right.
One important thing to factor in is TV schedules. Yes, we certainly need to be accommodating to this and should schedule our games for 4AM if it meant that we were on the four letter network. But if we’re not in a showcase game? 4:00. Every week. No debate.
3) Invest in Transportation – Don’t want to make every game a twilight affair? Fine. Here’s how you still incorporate alumni into weekend festivities:
Every weekend, JMU should be renting (and selling out) ten charter buses from various points in the DC metro area. Sell a package that includes a ticket to the game, round trip transportation, a spot in the Convo Center tailgate lot, and hell, throw in a purple and gold t-shirt for nostalgia sake. By doing this, you take the logistics of getting to and from Harrisonburg out of the equation. It’s a win-win for everyone.
4) Repeal the current Duke Dog costume – Have you seen the latest iteration of the Duke Dog? This isn’t the junkyard dog of yesteryear that went blow-for-blow with the Coastal Carolina chicken or whatever their mascot is. It’s a fuzzy, happy-go-lucky child entertainer that probably spends his/her spare time leading Drop Everything And Read! at the local elementary school.
How can we get behind this? When did we decide to trade off ferocity for friendly? Our mascot isn’t an ironic selection that can have a sweetheart side, like the Oregon Duck or the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug. It’s a bulldog. With a cape. And a crown. Act like it.
5) Graduate to FBS – And here’s the controversial one. If you dive into the comment threads on the CAAZone, The Sports Network, or any other Netscape Navigator-optimized site, you’ll find a lengthy listing of the pros and cons of graduating the FCS for the FBS. Even on this site, comprised of a purely JMU-focused homer crowd, there’s a riff between the jumpers and the jump-nots, the Hayden Christensens and the Woody Harrelsons.
The question the administration and athletic department needs to answer is: Who are we? Are we content with being a second-tier program while the rest of our athletics competes (and wins) against household names, like our recent soccer victory over #1 ranked UNC? Are we OK with the fact that our conference, once made up of similar sized and local schools, is disintegrating before our eyes? That TWO other Virginia schools (ODU and VCU [switching sports to basketball for a moment]) are moving ahead of us on the conference depth chart? That this move will ultimately make these colleges more competitive and threaten JMU’s marketability?
Are we content to fade into the background? I’m not and you shouldn’t be either. We should be constantly pursuing the next opportunity to grow our program, grow our prestige, and, in hand, grow our academics. Many other colleges are older and have these foundations in place – Rome wasn’t built in a day after all. JMU, on the other hand, is fledging in comparison to Tech, UVA, Maryland, West Virginia, UNC and other semi-local schools. Therefore, it requires us to invest more – both time and money – to shape this program and this university into whatever we want it to be.
We should all choose to do this, to watch this Saturday and every Saturday. We should choose to troll the random, unfound corners of the internet for injury reports on schools that don’t have stadium lighting. We should choose to donate to the program every year. Why? Not because it’s easy. But because it’s hard.
Some good ideas, but I think everything is contingent on the jump to the FBS level. To be a top tier program, we need to play at the highest level. Otherwise, we will always be a minor league program. No doubt it will take some time to achieve success at the FBS level and there will certainly be some lean years. But I think it will be worth it in the end, not just for the football program but for the entire university as well. Who is ready for some MACtion?
Fantastic write-up.
“4) Repeal the current Duke Dog costume – This isn’t the junkyard dog of yesteryear that went blow-for-blow with the Coastal Carolina chicken…”
YES. Ever since capital one-gate DD has been broken. Can we get something with some teeth? There is a JMU pendant on the wall of my office with the official logo on it, and a picture of my family with DD beside it. Why does the logo look so freaking sweet and the fuzzy person look so LAME?
“Every weekend, JMU should be renting (and selling out) ten charter buses from various points in the DC metro area. ”
AND the Hampton Roads area! Just because ODU moved up to the New Orleans Bowl on a random Thursday in mid-December does not mean we abandon the 757. There are TONS of alumni here. I admit, the only reason I don’t have season tickets is because I’m too lazy to drive 6 hours to/from Harrisonburg. I would totally take a bus, though.
I like the bus idea as well. Todd did an amazing job organizing a JMUSB bus for the WVU game and I know everyone who took it had a blast. Maybe we can do it for home games in future years. I think it would be a whole lot of fun and it might introduce some new folks to the JMU gameday experience.
Fine points…. The area population needs to support the team like they do in Morgantown (yes those WV area fans are as crazy as the students bc it’s “their team”)– They stay until the end of the game no matter what…..Re fans… Is there a way to get all of those MRD parents to actually give a hoot about the football team. SO many of them take up the prime season-ticket seats but are SO lethargic – dont even care on 3rd downs-but wake up at the half time show. And, perhaps our fan base can actually learn how to scream in unison with the MRDs. If we want to be D1 then we need a stadium full of fans to act like it. / I Like the bus thing – and agree start time might be better at 3 or 4 PM before all the students peter out and look for food.. Lastly- need to advertise this site.
@Dukes 4 care to elaborate on your last comment? Are you suggesting we need to advertise on the site or do a better job of advertising or getting the word out about it? Todd and I are obviously interested in reaching as many people as possible so if you have suggestions for publicizing it better, please tell us. We’re all ears.
Thanks.
I hate to put words into Duke 4’s mouth, but I think he intended to say you should advertise this site elsewhere to draw in more readers. How much would a commercial on jmVu be? That is your target audience, though I’m guessing it would be cost prohibitive.
M@ is correct. During game day I find fans,usually in my P lot location, that are not aware of your blog and the value of it (insight and humor).
Perhaps a banner(s) with the web address is a simple fix. Readers may even be able to throw up a simple one at each tailgate location.– no cost.
We appreciate the suggestions guys. Unfortunately, we don’t really have the resources to pursue advertising like that. This is something we do for fun and we already pay to have the site hosted. We’ll sell an occasional add to cover a portion of our costs, but that’s only when we’re approached by advertisers. If we had more time, we’d probably try to find more sponsors and really monetize the site. If we ever do that, then we might spend some of the proceeds on advertising. Right now, it doesn’t really make sense to spend the money though. We really rely on word of mouth and readers sharing links, so we’d appreciate it if you could keep passing it along.
Thanks!
I think the banner you guys showed us in another post (the “Start Wearing Purple” one) with the website on it is a great start, should generate some word of mouth.
Maybe making a few more of those and handing them out to loyal readers/tailgaters could help?
Ugh, I know the realities of both sides of this conversation way too well. I 100% agree that Todd and Rob do a great job, and this blog is such a great resource for JMU fans. I wish we could get the word out to more fans, particularly younger ones that are more apt to obsess over blogs like the Internet-addicted fiends that we 20-somethings are.
Unfortunately, the thing that resonated most with me was “we rely on word of mouth and readers sharing links.” It’s so true. Running a blog is hard work, particularly because there is no really great way to market yourself effectively without tons of money that nobody seems to have. If you’ve ever enjoyed this site’s work (or anyone’s blog, really, but especially this one) I really encourage you to advertise the writers’ hard work via social media.
We appreciate the support guys. We don’t want to toot our own horns, but we actually get pretty decent traffic. We’re perfectly fine growing through word of mouth, so spread the word if you enjoy reading.
Love all the ideas and I read this blog every week… the buses should come from three areas Tidewater, Richmond, and DC because Harrisonburg can’t support a D1 team. Maybe the Tidewater bus can stop in Richmond on its way. I also went to a Norte Dame game back in the 80’s and one thing I remembered to this day is ND band marching through the whole campus on game day and than timing its entrance into the stadium with about 5,000 fans following them into the stadium. It was a awesome feeling watching this ND tradition while playing their fight song. Here we have this awesome band and what would it take for them instead of practicing over by Eagle dorm to be Marching around the whole campus while tailgaters are having fun playing our fight song and than timing their entrence when the team is about to take the field. It can be a cool spectacle its even a great psych up for the team hearing those drums and the fight song as the band would enter the stadium. It always got me psched for game time. One other thing after watching ODU quick rise to the top of our conference and their fans bragging like I’m hearing. I can only say I hope we get the chance to play them at home to see who makes the playoffs as we put them into their misery and send them off with a season ending LOSS….I know we have Towson this weekend and its going to be a great game and many other tough games in between but I’m tired of the smack coming out of ODU. Of course I live close to ODU so I hear more than the Richmond and DC alums but its too much too early and I’m tired of it already…and they think their ready for D1 please they have had two great recruits a DLineman last year a Soph QB this year??? Go Dukes make it happen take each week as it comes with a W but make the dream happen!!!