We made it through “the other part of the year.” Now another JMU year, and with it a football season, are upon us. And this one feels special to us for some reason. Not that every year doesn’t have its own charms, but as we enter our 10th season of this pure, beloved dork-hobby of a project, something is different and requires both acknowledgement and gratitude. This thing has been there for us through illness and death and children and spectacular personal-life successes and failures (all mine, Rob’s navigated adulthood brilliantly). Maybe it’s our inspiration Spencer Hall hanging it up over at Every Day Should be Saturday and us knowing there won’t be his annual kickoff column to read; something that always meant so much more than sports. Maybe it’s not knowing what our own future looks like with this thing we’ve both come to love but which isn’t always compatible with middle-aged life. But whatever it is we’re gonna try, and likely come up short, to say a thing about what makes this all so special.
Homecoming. A word college football fans know and love so much that we probably don’t ever think too deeply on it after years of knowing “it’s the big game.” The one where the school rolls out all the good stuff and old folks like us act like undergrad fools for a few hours or a weekend. But the act itself – coming home – is more than that, and feels different for Dukes. It probably does for other fanbases too, but all we know about is Dukes. What does it fully mean to come home to JMU? Does it have to be in Harrisonburg? Or could one come home in Morgantown, West Virginia or Chattonooga, Tennessee or Kingston, Rhode Island, or even Frisco, Texas? Needless to say, it’s a whole lot more than black-out games or conference rivalries, or even class reunions. And it doesn’t happen once a year, but at least eleven or twelve times and hopefully more if things break the way we all hope.
If you’re reading this, you probably know that much of our JMUSB engagement with other fans has migrated over the years from the comments on this here site over to Twitter. We run that account – the JMUSB Twitter account – together, and I know I speak for both of us when I say that it has become one of our favorite things. And you know what makes it great? It’s all about JMU and that just makes us happy. It’s the closest thing to “sticking to sports” in a world where that’s not possible. We each maintain separate “Individual” accounts on that site, and others, where we follow family and friends and the outside world. And in talking to each other over the years, we’ve realized that we sometimes see two different worlds on those other accounts given our often divergent views on all kinds of things. I imagine that’s the way it is for many folks out there. And while I may check those other accounts for breaking news or family photos or event information, it also seems to makes me sad and angry and unhappy and anxious.
But every fall, the JMU tribe gathers back up and we come home. Together.
Throughout the long offseason, I often find myself on those other accounts growing steadily angrier at some members of my JMU tribe. I’ve thought a lot about my own anger, and where it comes from. I’ve thought on this a good deal more than is healthy; of that I’m certain. And you know the only thing I’ve come up with? The very thing that pisses me off or makes me sad – sad like the very snowflake I’m probably being accused of being at this very moment – is how much I love those folks in my tribe. I know them, I love them, I respect them. And you know why? Because when we come home every fall, we grill brats and we roast oysters and we share too many beers and bad brown liquor. And we throw bags, and play 2×4 jenga, and yell “it’s Bo Time” at the chicken, and share streamers, early mornings, and late nights. On the very best days, we even rush fields in Williamsburg or Harrisonburg (ASU) or Chatty or Frisco. Together. And somewhere in all that frivolous debauchery, my tribe has graciously and unconditionally been a healing salve on the gaping wounds left by some of those personal failings I mentioned. They’ve been an undeniable force for good in service of others from the Valley to Seattle and back. From Crab Feasts to Food Pantries. They know me. All my flaws and happiness and many of them know darned sure that none of us as individuals are all one thing or another. None of us are all good or all bad, all one party or another, all right or wrong. They’ve put me up in Charlotte or Wilmington or Albuquerque when I needed a weekend away from the world. We know each other well enough to know that none of us believe in an across-the-board ideology on anything. Except one thing that is: Dukes! And I’d like to think that occasionally I’ve been able to return the favor with support and friendship and joy. Especially when I know them a bit too and have learned at least a teensy bit about their own heartbreaks and tragedies and joyous occasions.
But we always come home to this one thing we share. We share a love and passion and experience that brings us back. There may be no real chance of “sticking to sports” anywhere, and there shouldn’t be, but there is believing, together, in this singular grand, silly, loving, and delusional thing that brings us back.
When Start Wearing Purple begins and visiting fans are bewildered at the song choice, we are together. When we lovingly laugh at alumni-band day when the first few notes of Bill Chase’s “Get it On” blast out, we are together. When we smirk knowingly when someone sneers “Party in the EndZone,” we are together. When we giggle asking a stranger “You rootin’ fer Dukes, bud?” we are together. And when we all come together on the Twitter cesspool to celebrate a random night in August of preseason NFL featuring former Dukes, we are together.
It’s enough to make us wonder if maybe we all stepped away a little more often from all the “screens” in our life, if we couldn’t find some more “together?”
College athletics, in particular the type of big-time college football that JMU plays, brings with it all kinds of problems and issues and wildly irrational contradictions. At least if we’re honest about the endeavor it does. And I’m not suggesting for even a minute that whether the issue is college football or altogether more important things in the world, that we shouldn’t question or challenge – or when necessary even call out – our own friends and fellow tribal members to be better or think differently. But the thing I think we love the most about loving this insane endeavor that is JMU football is that when we do those things, we do so after we have first recognized each other as “Dukes.” When we are Dukes first, we’ve already acknowledged each of our members’ humanity in a way we so often don’t in other forums. I’m not saying JMU football itself is even the best thing in the world to bring us together (but come on, it is!), but I would scream the same full-throated defense of this silly thing at the elitist liberal faculty member AND the equally clueless anti-higher-ed conservative legislator who can’t grasp why “athletics is the front porch of the university.” I think there is one thing they both miss in not understanding the place this thing holds – however anachronistic on a micro level – in the cultural landscape at the macro level. This thing, this coming home, is one of the last spaces where we come home “together,” and that keeps us coming back year after year.
Dr. King once remarked – and I’ve always supposed he did so plainly and sadly – of worship services, that “Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America.” More and more, the same could be said of so many of the group civic and cultural activities we voluntarily elect to participate in, even when the exact types of segregation may continually shift. But you can’t say the same about this one thing we love, and for that I am filled with gratitude. When we come home to JMU we sign up to share fellowship with others who may only agree with us on this one thing, Dukes, but that thing makes all the difference in the way we talk – and more importantly for loudmouths like me – the way we listen. And I’d suggest to all the fellow members of our tribe that we celebrate this as a strength of this crazy thing we love, not a weakness. Most of us don’t just cheer 19-yr olds, or bitch about playcalling, or pour countless hours and dollars into this thing we love because we deeply care about the beauty of a finely-tuned spread offense or because we don’t believe in concussions. Rather, we do so for something deeper, maybe even something that involves connection with others. Once a year, when we ask our old pals from over Massanutten to share “the good stuff” with us, they send us their tailgate spot. And they don’t ask for any shibboleth other than that we bleed purple and we imbibe together, when we’ve come home.
Or who knows, maybe I’m full of crap? After all, my favorite recurring character in literature, Travis McGee, is a guy who always claims to be “wary of all earnestness.” Maybe with all the acrimony between us humans today I should do the same and this whole bowlful of words I just tried to write is all too earnest to be taken seriously. But the deeper truth with my guy is that McGee is actually full of it when he acts the cynic. Despite his own spectacular failures, he always comes home to his friends, sometimes in open and vulnerable and yes, earnest, ways. So with that I say let’s do this thing – coming home again – one more time! Together. Go Dukes!
We post one time and then immediately begin hitting y’all up for content. Peak JMUSB. Anyway, for those of you who are new, or any of you who don’t remember, this is something we’ve enjoyed doing for years. Before each JMU football game, we’ll create a predictions post. Everyone is invited to leave a comment with their prediction for the upcoming game. The person who comes closest to nailing it (winner & score) gets to write a guest post. If two people tie, we’ll give it to whomever was first. That’s it. It’s incredibly simple, but something we’ve had a lot of fun with for a while. And it’s resulted in some of our best content. So leave a comment below with your prediction for Saturday and Go Dukes!
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, rooters and non-rooters, we are back. Yeah, it’s been a while. You’re favorite bloggers haven’t really been bloggers at all. We’re a decade into this little project and for the first time ever we took the summer off. Actually, that’s giving us too much credit. We didn’t take time off as much as we simply enjoyed our lives and stopped worrying about “content.” But the pull of the Dukes is strong. And in case you haven’t heard, it’s game week. JMU plays West Virginia on Saturday. Coach Houston is gone and Coach Cignetti is all the rage now. It’s a new day. The boys are back in town. And by boys, we mean a couple of middle aged dorks no longer content to bore y’all on podcasts. Now we’re going to bore y’all on the blog as well. That’s right. It’s a brand new season for JMU Football. But it’s the same as it ever was for JMU Sports Blog. Hop on board for one more season. It’s gonna be fun.
We’ve been slacking on the blog (that ends soon), but we did manage to record to a new episode of the JMUSB Podcast. And no joke, in it we’re talking football. Not cheap jokes about conference realignment, but a real, honest to God discussion about the 2019 season. In particular, we take a look at the Dukes game at UT Chattanooga, a game we’re pretty stoked about, and the CAA conference opener against Elon. It’s going to be a revenge game of sorts for both teams. Give it a listen. You won’t regret it (maybe).
As always, thanks to our sponsors, Mossy Creek Fly Fishing and Pale Fire Brewing. JMUSB Podcast listeners can swing by the fly shop on 480 East Market Street and mention the pod to get a free sticker. And then swing by our other loverly sponsor Pale Fire Brewing for a cold one. Mention the pod and you’ll get a free pint glass to take home after you finish your beer.
The AAC isn’t replacing UConn at this time. We’ve long remained silent on the topic of conference realignment, not because we concluded that JMU was not realistically being considered by the powers that be in the AAC, realized we had absolutely no control over it, and decided to be excited about what JMU is, instead of wasting energy on what it is not. And not because we just got sick of the entire “debate” years ago. But with this absolutely earth shattering (and not all expected) bit of news, we can no longer stay silent. Our voices must be heard. Buckle up boys and girls because we’re about to unload every thought and feeling we have on the topic, no matter how much it hurts, or how mentally exhausting it might be. Here goes.
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Thanks to the wonders of Google auto-complete, we stumbled into the top questions people have about JMU. We included them above. Sure, you could click on each term and painstakingly browse the search results to come up with an answer. Or you could just let us, your trusty blogger friends answer the questions for you. Let’s do that. From the top down, here are your answers.
- Yes, JMU is D1. The school’s 17 athletic programs compete in the NCAA’s Division 1 (D1) at for all sports, with football playing in the D1 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
- It is. In fact, it was recently recognized as the number one college in Virginia for post graduate employment.
- Yep. There’s more to college than just studying.
- Guess some people assume it is, because of the name, but nope, it’s not private.
- Thought we covered this already, but yeah, JMU is a D1 school. Not sure what the confusion is.
- It’s selective, but far from impossible to get into. It helps to be well rounded, fun, and good looking.
- Sheesh. Why is this so hard to understand people? Yes, the football team is D1 and it plays in the Football Championship Subdivision.
- No. Wouldn’t be much of a party school if it was.
- You can apply to JMU via the Common App.
- Enough already. We’re done.
The latest episode of the JMUSB Podcast is available for your listening pleasure. It’s a pretty good one if we do say ourselves. Eric Bowlin, the President of the JMU Alumni Association, dropped by to give us an update on all things alumni. Then we dive into a discussion of the most beloved JMU athletes of all time. Finally, in honor of Father’s Day, we wrap things up with a little OT chat about the most “dad” things we did all year. Give it a listen.
As always, thanks to our sponsors, Mossy Creek Fly Fishing and Pale Fire Brewing. JMUSB Podcast listeners can swing by the fly shop on 480 East Market Street and mention the pod to get a free sticker. And then swing by our other loverly sponsor Pale Fire Brewing for a cold one. Mention the pod and you’ll get a free pint glass to take home after you finish your beer.
Wants and needs. They’re different things. Of course that doesn’t stop people from using “needs” to describe things that are nothing more than wants. We want football season to arrive, we don’t literally need it to. So we stumbled upon this throwaway list of 10 best nonconference games in FCS pushed out for no other reason than to create “content” in the offseason, said “JMU needs to improve its nonconference scheduling,” it hit a nerve. Well, that might be overstating it. It really did nothing more than give us an opportunity to respond and thus create some throwaway offseason content of our own.
First of all, the mere fact that JMU’s game against Chattanooga is considered by the author to be one of the top 10 nonconference games, kind of damages the entire argument that the schedule must improve. But that’s not really what got to me. It’s the “needs” thing. Football fans might want to see JMU play more good nonconference games. But it’s a stretch to say the Dukes need to.
JMU wants to win championships. To do that, JMU needs to make the playoffs. And they certainly want to earn a seed, but technically they don’t need one. So the powers that be build a schedule that best gives them a chance to make the playoffs, and the hopefully earn a seed, and prepare the Dukes for the type of competition they’ll face in the postseason. Given how competitive the CAA is most years, teams don’t have a big margin for error in conference play. Any team that heads into conference play with 2 or 3 nonconference losses, will have a tough road to a bid. And because the CAA is one of the top FCS leagues, with multiple playoff teams most years, conference play usually gets teams ready for December football. Which leads many teams to conclude that it’s smart to schedule a few easy tune-ups.
JMU is one of those schools. Most years, you can count on two things when you go to Bridgeforth in September. One, it will be hot, and two, you’re gonna see JMU light up the scoreboard. JMU usually plays a “stretch” road game against an FBS school, and then schedules teams from surrounding FCS conferences. And those teams can rarely keep up. It’s not as exciting as seeing an FCS power team come to town, and it’s clearly a risk averse approach, but it’s hard to argue with the results.
But it works. JMU has made the playoffs the past 5 seasons. They won the title for the 2016 season and made it all the way back to the championship the following year. Last year, the Dukes crashed out in the second round, but if anyone can connect the disaster that was that game to the nonconference schedule, they’re seeing things we’re not. The Dukes are a perennial playoff team and always in the mix for the CAA title. The scheduling philosophy is working. It’s not hurting the Dukes and doesn’t “need” to change.
Now given all that, we agree that as fans, it would be very fun to have more 2008 JMU vs. App State type match-ups. But that’s a want, not a need. And those aren’t easy to pull off. Coaches and ADs all say they’ll take on any team, anywhere. Top teams are not lining up to come play in Bridgeforth. And JMU doesn’t need strength of schedule building nonconference games, so there’s no pressure to take tough roadies. We’ve all heard the rumors about NDSU wanting to put together a game against JMU…in the Fargodome. Jeff Bourne was right to turn that down. Home and home or hang up the phone.
We get it. The multiple early season games against teams with no chance are not exciting. It would be fun to have some more competitive games. But the goal is to get to the playoffs and make a run. Yeah, picking the “needs” word to death is a bit pedantic, but it’s true. JMU doesn’t need to change a thing with its scheduling. We want the Dukes to make it back to the playoffs. And they need to play better then they did last year, once they get there.
On the latest episode of the JMUSB Podcast, we close the book on the 2018-2019 JMU sports season. We talk about some highlights and lowlights, and start to look toward next year, and chat about Todd’s debut on the radio with Al Galdi. Finally, with Rocketman in the theaters, we go OT and discuss our favorite Elton John tunes.
As always, thanks to our sponsors, Mossy Creek Fly Fishing and Pale Fire Brewing. JMUSB Podcast listeners can swing by the fly shop on 480 East Market Street and mention the pod to get a free sticker. And then swing by our other loverly sponsor Pale Fire Brewing for a cold one. Mention the pod and you’ll get a free pint glass to take home after you finish your beer.
The Washington Redskins did something right. Seriously, it’s true. After repeatedly trying to win offseason championships year after year by signing overhyped, washed stars of yesteryear, the organization actually did its homework and sought out high value players in the 2019 draft. And one of those high value players was JMUSB favorite Jimmy Moreland. Or Jimmy Effin Moreland as he’s officially known.
Jimmy was a seventh round pick. Seventh round picks are no lock to make the final 53 man rosters. But Jimmy is Jimmy. And he’s already doing Jimmy things. He turned heads in the Skins rookie camp. And now he’s making plays during Washington’s first rounds of OTAs. He’s a dog. As JMU fans, we all know this. And now Washington fans are starting to see it. Seats on the bandwagon are filling up fast. Beat writers, fans, and coaches are excited about him. We’re thrilled for him personally. At least one of us if thrilled for the Skins fanbase and all the joy he’s going to bring it (hint: not me). But let’s get one things straight. His name is Jimmy Effin Moreland. He might need an introduction, but he doesn’t need a nickname.
We’ve read the tweets, enjoyed the coaches’ comments, and heard the soundbites. They’re all great. We love them. Watching Jimmy play has brought us immeasurable amounts of joy the past few years. It’s really, really fun to see newbies who haven’t had the pleasure of watching him play, catch the Jimmy bug. It’s infectious. But let’s get one thing clear. He has a nickname. Actually, it’s more than a nickname. It’s his official name (check the birth certificate) and it’s Jimmy Effin Moreland.
Look, we get it. There are dead spots in the sports calendar. Folks need to create content. There’s a serious temptation to make too much of the latest amazing 3 interception performance by a 7th round pick who is a serious ball hawk, won’t back down from anyone, and can not only make picks but can return to the house. We understand how folks might get a little ahead of themselves and think it’s time to create nicknames for OTA studs. It’s not. And not because they’r not future NFL studs. But because some of them already have the nicknames covered.
JMU fans are passionate. We can also be a prickly bunch. But y’all need to let us have this. We’ve known Jimmy for years. We saw greatness from the get go. We were all in from the breakout performance against Lehigh. We were in his corner during his hiatus from the team. And of course we were all in during his triumphant return. So forgive us if we feel somewhat protective of our guy. We love him getting shine, but also want folks to know the history. He’s not coming out nowhere. He’s coming from JMU, a place where he made plays, won championships, and became a legend.
Much like JMU fans, Washington coach Jay Gruden seems pretty hyped about Jimmy. He loudly proclaimed “there’s a mouse in the house” when talking about our guy making 3 picks at practice. Jimmy is no rodent and he ain’t gonna go by “mouse.” Let’s make a deal Jay. You do your thing and let JMU fans do ours. That means we’ll cover the nicknames for all time great Dukes, and you can continue to keep the seat warm before Emperor Snyder gets an itchy trigger finger and replaces you with another perfectly pleasant, yet ultimately mediocre individual who’ll be hamstrung in all the same ways you are. And in other situations “the people’s corner” would have potential, but it’s completely unnecessary at this point. He already has a name. It’s Jimmy Effin Moreland.
Finally, please spare us the cries about it being an offensive nickname. Our guy is playing for the Redskins. The Redskins! This ain’t the franchise to pull that card. And even if the media comes down hard on the PC angle, we’re sure Danny Boy can just pay some random dude to pretend like he speaks for a proud history of Effin lineage. The man already has a nickname. It’s pretty official. Let’s not overthink this folks. Just go with it.
