{"id":7158,"date":"2014-10-16T21:29:49","date_gmt":"2014-10-17T01:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7158"},"modified":"2014-10-16T21:29:49","modified_gmt":"2014-10-17T01:29:49","slug":"guest-post-keep-on-rootin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7158","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: Keep on Rootin’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jonathan<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jonathan won last week’s prediction contest and earned the right to guest post.\u00a0You can follow him on Twitter at\u00a0@JBear8990<\/a>. Here’s his story about being born into a JMU family and\u00a0rootin’\u00a0fer Dukes. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

First of all \u2013 thanks to Rob and Todd for writing the blog. It\u2019s been a source of information, entertainment, and distraction from school over the years and I\u2019ve really enjoyed it. Also thanks for the opportunity to post!<\/p>\n

Starting out I didn\u2019t want to tell my \u2018JMU Story\u2019 necessarily \u2013 because well we\u2019ve seen plenty of that here, and people do love lists\/countdowns – but I\u2019m not any good at that stuff. \u00a0At the same time \u2013 we all have a JMU Story, and it\u2019s a large part of why we root \u2013 so I\u2019ll add some conference realignment thoughts in at the end to spice it up.<\/p>\n

I grew up in a JMU household \u2013 my dad (Grover) finished in \u201980 at JMU and my mom (Terry) attended VCU (which was essentially irrelevant when I was growing up) so we pulled for the Dukes in all things. But having the VCU influence did give us 2 great reasons to hate the University of Richmond. When I was 4, I made my dad miss Kent Culuko\u2019s \u2018shot\u2019 in 1994 at the Richmond Coliseum because I had to go to the bathroom. My dad was kind enough to take me to the bathroom. I would probably have let my kid pee in his pants with the game that close. (We both attended and enjoyed the 2013 CAA Championship, which somewhat atoned for my bathroom mishap) We attended 1-2 home JMU football games a year and I always enjoyed my trips up to Bridgeforth as a kid. I even attended 2 of Mickey Matthews\u2019 football camps. After the National Championship (!) we committed to season tickets and tailgating at JMU has been a weekly fall tradition for my family ever since.<\/p>\n

I attended JMU from 2008-12 and pretty much attended all of the home and relatively nearby away football games in that time. CrApp St, VT, UNC, Duke, MD, ODU, even went to the Men\u2019s CAA basketball champs in Richmond (when we lost in the first round to the Nerds \u2013 yikes)\u2026I attended as much as I could. But greater than the sports at JMU were the times I had and the friends I made. I met my wonderful wife (Melissa) at JMU and made some of my best friends there that I wouldn\u2019t trade it for anything. My family hosted a big tailgate every home game in college and we\u2019d all come eat, and then go destroy our throats screaming at the game. It was a fusion of my family tradition with my best friends from college. My sister (Emma) still attends JMU for her Masters in Education, but we don\u2019t really need an excuse to head up to the \u2018burg. \u00a0My experience at JMU had a tremendous influence on who I am today, and that\u2019s one aspect of why I root for the Dukes. Sure \u2013 it gives me something to talk about with my med school friends who went to UVA or Tech. But greater to pull for JMU as a community to influence lives the way mine has changed \u2013 and be proud of it. It is also a rallying force for my family \u2013 to spend quality time together and bond over Jimmy \u201cEffin\u201d Moreland with a pick 6, or even Scotty McGee returning that punt for a touchdown at Richmond in 2008. I root because I love football and want to be proud of how it represents our university.<\/p>\n

Something that\u2019s been frustrating me recently is people pulling their donations, or saying \u2018JMU isn\u2019t worth my time or money to root for because they\u2019re not moving up\u2019. Do I think we should be in CUSA\/MAC now? Yes, probably. Should we have gone with ODWho? Yes. Our administration has certainly made mistakes, I agree. But that\u2019s not a reason to stop rootin\u2019 or stop cutting those checks that you really don\u2019t know what else to do with. In the wake of all of the crap that has happened over the past few years- JMU needs our support now more than ever. (And I know I\u2019m the optimist who will pick us to win 42-21 over Towson when we are a 7 pt favorite and almost lost to Albany)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

We need to continue talking to the administration, continue giving gifts, and not base our support on what JMU is doing for us when our buddy from Tech is busting our chops about still being FCS (21-16 SON!). We keep on rootin\u2019 for the Dukes \u2013 in good times and in the bad, and always hope that a better team or season is around the corner. We need to treasure the great wins (I made my family stay till the end of the Towson game to enjoy the beatdown on Ambrose\u2019s gang) and times we have with other JMU fans.<\/p>\n

I do believe we are on the right track with Withers \u2013 even though it didn\u2019t start exactly how we dreamed. The team has gotten better every week and the defense is starting to come together. Bourne has realized some of his past mistakes cost him (EKU playoff game \u2013 8 hr drive that my family made the day after Thanksgiving) and is pressuring coaches for wins now, not just doing okay in the mighty CAA. I don\u2019t know what to think of sandwich Alger, but time will tell. I see the glass half full for JMU Sports (minus Men\u2019s basketball) and am excited for what the future holds.<\/p>\n

So \u2013 I press on rootin\u2019 for JMU with my med school buddy Matt \u2013 talking about JMU sports in between classes. Rootin\u2019 with my college friends Craig (@cremedelacrm<\/a>) and Michael (@Michael_2Clutch<\/a>) \u2013with group texts about recruits. And rootin\u2019 with my family that keeps on tailgating hard, and making a lot of noise from section 310.<\/p>\n

Keep on Rootin’ JMU Dukes.<\/p>\n