{"id":6063,"date":"2013-10-09T07:00:39","date_gmt":"2013-10-09T11:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6063"},"modified":"2013-10-09T07:00:39","modified_gmt":"2013-10-09T11:00:39","slug":"guest-blogger-a-walk-down-memory-lane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6063","title":{"rendered":"Guest Blogger: A Walk Down Memory Lane"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JMU-VT<\/a>M@ won our prediction contest last week and is this week’s guest blogger. Here’s a little walk down JMU football memory lane.<\/em><\/p>\n

I did a post last season about some random thoughts I had on JMU football<\/a>. \u00a0I found the experience quite enjoyable in all and so I decided to keep making guesses. \u00a0Low and behold my randomly selected score matched closely with reality and here I am again. This time I\u2019ve decided to include a list of some of my most vivid memories of JMU football (I apologize for the number of losses). \u00a0Whenever possible I will provide a link (or links) to the game in question, but some of these are pretty old. \u00a0Now, without further ado, and in no particular order, my most memorable football moments:<\/p>\n

W&M 27 – JMU 24<\/a> \u2013 11\/13\/2004<\/h1>\n

Game notes<\/a>. (Scroll down to \u2018Earlier 2004 Meeting\u2019).<\/p>\n

What I remember: There are two plays that stand out from this game. \u00a0First, Rascati lost a fumble reaching for a first down on 3rd and 1 in the 3rd quarter. \u00a021 yards later The Tribe took their first lead of the game (ok, I had to look up the distance, but I knew it was short). \u00a0He was stopped short, but he (as a Sophomore) seemed to forget the difference between reaching for a TD (where the play stops as soon as the ball crosses the goal line) and reaching for a first down (where play continues). \u00a0An alert William and Mary defender knocked the ball out of his hands and the ball was lost.<\/p>\n

The second play I remember is the 46-yard field goal as time expired. \u00a0From where I was sitting I was almost even with the uprights, so I could see it had the distance, but had to wait for the signal to see if it went in between the uprights. \u00a0I\u2019ve almost never heard such silence at Bridgeforth Stadium though I\u2019m sure the green and gold fans were loud\u2026I don\u2019t remember it as shock had set in.<\/p>\n

OK, one more thing I remember about this game: going down to Williamsburg less than a month later and winning 48-34<\/a> in the playoffs (while running the ball down their throats). The game wasn\u2019t as close as the final score would suggest as W&M scored a TD in garbage time to pull within 14.<\/p>\n

Buffalo 0 – JMU 30 \u2013 9\/3\/1994<\/h1>\n

What I remember: I have to be honest with you. \u00a0I don\u2019t remember this game at all. \u00a0But, this was the first game I came to at JMU as a pimply-faced Freshman, sitting at the 45 yard line. \u00a0What I do remember is the band. \u00a0I had been a UVa fan in high school (forgive me, I was young and impressionable). \u00a0I grew up watching the UVa Pep Band. \u00a0In 1994, JMU\u2019s marching band had broken from tradition for a single season and the pregame show did not include Proud Mary\u2026It started with Grand Old Flag by the Yankee Doodle Boy himself, George M Cohen. \u00a0They marched in in five straight lines, hit the goal line and turned back to do a march back through the band. \u00a0Unlike today, they also played to the student section for the pre-game show. \u00a0300+ members strong and they filled the stadium with sound.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, it made quite the impression. This was also, technically, the first time I saw my future wife as she was somewhere in that mass of musicians, though we wouldn\u2019t actually meet for another 3 months.<\/p>\n

McNeese State 30 at JMU 24 \u2013 9\/16\/1995<\/h1>\n

What I remember: I was a pimply-faced Sophomore sitting at the 45 yard line for the first half while my Dukes were playing a 1st ranked (maybe 3rd I don\u2019t exactly remember) McNeese State. \u00a0The Cowboys were getting their collective asses handed to them by my Dukes. \u00a0By the half we were winning by a couple of touchdowns in one of the most miserable rain storm games I had ever been to (and few games have matched it since). \u00a0Before the half the student section, myself included, was chanting \u2018overrated\u2019 at the visitors. \u00a0At half time I went over to Section 10 to sit with my parents who had gotten season tickets so they could come up to see me. \u00a0McNeese State hung a few touchdowns on us and held us back for the comeback victory. \u00a0I haven\u2019t noticed since that day, any student body chant \u2018overrated\u2019 at a visiting team\u2026at least not in the first half.<\/p>\n

JMU 21 – VA Tech 16<\/a> \u2013 10\/11\/2010<\/h1>\n

What I remember: A few words have been written about this particular game and it is still mentioned on national TV once or twice a year. \u00a0But what I remember most is the rain and my desperate attempt to keep my cell phone functional through the game. \u00a0I had purchased tickets from a VT fan, so I sat in the upper deck somewhere around the 35 yard line. \u00a0After the first half, I turned to my friend (we were a dot of purple in a sea of maroon) and said “This can’t be right.” We weren’t winning, but we were still in it and that seemed wrong somehow. \u00a0After the third quarter I repeated myself “this can’t be right.” \u00a0After the game I would like to say I was more original, but I’m afraid I was still in disbelief “That can’t be right.” \u00a0I watched the game carefully, but other than a vague recollection of the introduction of the Pistol offense, Drew Dudzik running for two touchdowns and a critical fumble by Tyrod Taylor, I don’t remember much about the game itself. \u00a0What I do remember is all the JMU fans surrounding the band after the game and the band playing song after song until the security guards asked them to stop and leave.<\/p>\n

JMU 24 – Liberty 10<\/a> \u2013 9\/26\/2009<\/h1>\n

What I remember: The rain. \u00a0I remember almost nothing about the game other than being nervous (it was 10-10 in the fourth quarter). \u00a0I also remember sitting next to a couple of nice JMU fans at the game that I saw at Bridgeforth Stadium the next week. \u00a0Or more accurately they saw me (I can be hard to miss in that purple cowboy hat). Another set of fans were nice enough to give me and my friend a couple of ponchos after the 1st quarter (not that it helped much\u2026we were already freezing and soaked). \u00a0My friend took his off in the fourth quarter and JMU came back. \u00a0It\u2019s only silly if it doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

But mostly, I remember the rain.<\/p>\n

JMU 19 – Delaware 48 \u2013 11\/21\/1995<\/h1>\n

What I remember: I drove up on a whim for my first away game ever in my \u201cnew\u201d \u201cred\u201d (really orange) 1984 Honda Prelude (although I was a UVa fan in high school we never went to any away games). \u00a0The problem is that I was used to JMU football where you could just walk up at the last minute and get a ticket. \u00a0Delaware wasn’t like that. \u00a0I went up with two friends, one had walked on to the football team that year (but obviously didn\u2019t travel with the team), but he had a ticket. The other guy and I did not. \u00a0The first half we listened to the radio in the car. \u00a0At halftime, since we were losing so badly, a couple of exiting UD fans gave my friend and me tickets. \u00a0We met up with the future football player in the stands and watched the second half. \u00a0We lost, badly. \u00a0After the game I sat and watched the band play (my friends had actually driven up in a separate car and left me there). \u00a0Several UD fans asked me about the band and I at least got to brag about one aspect of my school to the enemy (1994 Sudler Trophy Recipient after all). \u00a0After the game I gave a member of the band who was a friend (read: future wife who hadn’t yet succumbed to my charms) a ride home.<\/p>\n

JMU 27 – App State 28<\/a> \u2013 11\/24\/2007<\/h1>\n

What I remember: The final play. \u00a0This is the only game I have ever left early at any level (and that by only 11 seconds). \u00a0Jamal Sullivan, the first JMU player ever to score a touchdown against VT (since I started following JMU football), didn\u2019t start out in my memory quite so well. \u00a0In FG range with time ticking down and the coaches call a dive to center the ball for a winning field goal attempt instead of just having Rodney Landers take the snap and kneel two yards to the left. \u00a0Sullivan fumbled and App State recovered\u2026then went on for their 3rd national title. \u00a0I did take some solace in knowing we had played them closer than #5 FBS ranked Michigan who had lost to the Mountaineers 34-32 earlier in the season.<\/p>\n

App State 32 – JMU 35<\/a> \u2013 9\/20\/2008<\/h1>\n

What I remember: In my previous post I had included a YouTube video of Scotty McGee returning a last minute punt against Richmond for a Touchdown. \u00a0Obviously that moment belongs in this list, but I\u2019ve already mentioned it. \u00a0Apparently App State didn\u2019t get the memo: Don\u2019t kick the ball to Scotty McGee\u2026part 2. \u00a0Note that this occurred just 10 months after the disappointing loss I mentioned earlier. \u00a0The first half did not go our way. \u00a0At halftime we were losing 21-0 and I had completely lost hope. \u00a0Then App State made their first big mistake of the game. \u00a0They kicked the ball to Scotty McGee (you’d think teams would learn); 99 yards later and about 7 seconds into the second half the deficit was only 14 points. \u00a0And the rest, as they say, is history.<\/p>\n

Maine 10 – JMU 13 \u2013 9\/20\/1997<\/h1>\n

What I remember: This is another game I barely remember, but the band made a big impression (that seems to happen a lot). \u00a0The Black Bears had brought their band to our stadium (usually a big no-no). \u00a0Our football team prevailed apparently, but after the game I stuck around to watch the post-game (remember, my future wife was in there somewhere). \u00a0The two bands took turns playing their shows. \u00a0Maine had fewer band members and no music program, but they were still pretty good\u2026but not as good as the Marching Royal Dukes in my humble opinion. \u00a0This is the closest I\u2019ve ever come to sending a \u2018Dart\u2019 in to the The Breeze: A Dart to everyone who left Saturday\u2019s game before the bands\u2019 post game shows\u2026you missed one hell of an event.<\/p>\n

Maine 25 – JMU 24<\/a> \u2013 10\/8\/2011<\/h1>\n

Video<\/a><\/p>\n

What I remember: The final play<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It takes some cojones to go for two in the first OT against a team with the speed and athleticism of JMU. \u00a0They converted and a silence more pronounced than that of the end of the 2004 W&M regular season game descended on the stadium. \u00a0The helicopter two-point conversion not only made the SportsCenter Top 10 for the week, it actually made the list for the best plays of the year.<\/p>\n

The one I don\u2019t remember anything else about<\/h1>\n

What I remember: I don\u2019t remember the game and I don\u2019t remember the score. \u00a0But this was a punt return, though not one by Scotty McGee. \u00a0This was by a little guy named Delvin Joyce. \u00a0I think he was with the team from 1997 \u2013 2001. \u00a0He went on to play for the New York NFL Football Giants from 2002 through 2004. \u00a0The opposing team punted him the ball and he didn\u2019t call fair catch despite the shortness of the punt and the hang time. \u00a0He caught it and the defender hit him in the face\u2026but didn\u2019t wrap up. \u00a0He bounced backward five yards or so, broke right and returned the punt for a touchdown.<\/p>\n

———–<\/p>\n

There are more memories I could share, but this is already longer than I wanted it to be. \u00a0I started writing with three ideas and those invariably lead me to others (that may be why there were so many catastrophic losses and rain-related memories). \u00a0So, please share your favorite, most bitter or just the strongest memory in the comments. \u00a0I\u2019d love to hear them.<\/p>\n

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