Countdowns Begin (and End)!
Days till Strasburg debut: 1
Days till World Cup begins: 4
Days till Half-Bridgeforth reopens and Dukes take on Morehead St.: 89
I know it’s hard to believe, but just like this week’s big events, the 2010 Football season, and with it the opening of Phase I of New Bridgeforth Stadium, will be here before we know it. We’ve been eagerly anticipating the happenings in South Africa and NatsTown (at least I have on this one) for well over a year and at times, it felt like they’d never arrive. But here they are, arriving as sports manna to fill in the normally dogdayish summer months on the sports calendar. (What, you don’t think the JMU Football season warrants comparison with these other events? Aren’t your currently reading a JMU Sports Blog?) Similarly, when I used to babble on about the stadium project, people would look at me like I’d just claimed I could eat my weight in Godfather’s Pizza, but take a look at this shot!
The Myth
When the baseball team lost in the CAA tourney last weekend, that officially marked the end of the 2009-2010 athletic year and allowed us to rip open the box of rampant speculation and excitement for next year! The beginnings of a new stadium, two extra at-large berths in the FCS playoffs, and a training camp without QB controversy all appear ready to make this a fantastic fall season. And we haven’t even gotten to JMUSB’s other favorite team, the perennial powerhouse Field Hockey squad, also poised to make serious runs at hardware next year!
2009-2010 was a perfect example of the shifting perspective surrounding JMU Sports. Even some spectacular results that broke new ground weren’t enough to necessarily meet Dukes fan’s rising expectations. Just to cap the 2009-2010 year, here are JMUSB’s co-champions for Team of the year:
#1) Women’s Basketball – First CAA title in forever, trip to the big dance, empowering upsets of UVa, VT, and Georgetown!
#2) Lacrosse (no need to distinguish men’s or women’s) – Expectations met! Should’ve been ranked higher all year, but played their own game, pretty much whooped folks all season, won the CAA title, and advanced to the Quarterfinals of the NCAA tourney. Only a tough second half against Syracuse prevented them from taking this title, and maybe a much more important one.
Check back later this week for another 2010 CAA Football Preview (likely URI).
