{"id":8088,"date":"2015-10-20T07:08:41","date_gmt":"2015-10-20T11:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8088"},"modified":"2015-10-20T09:24:25","modified_gmt":"2015-10-20T13:24:25","slug":"a-few-notes-on-what-we-need-from-fans-for-gameday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8088","title":{"rendered":"A Few Notes on What We Need From JMU Football Fans for Gameday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Corso\"<\/a>So we’re a) old and b) certainly not the experts on what others should be doing, but as huge dork fans that want this weekend to live up to everything we all hope for JMU, we thought we should emphasize a few things that we’ve learned from visiting FBS games ourselves over the years (in Rob’s case mainly LSU and in mine WVU). Hopefully a few of these will truly help. Here’s the official info from JMU<\/a>, who is doing an amazing job communicating with fans. And here’s our very unofficial advice.<\/p>\n

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  1. Gameday takes place from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, but JMU needs as many purple-clad lunatics like ourselves present and insane on the Quad from no later than 6:45 a.m. The first live shots on Saturday come on Sportscenter at 7. ESPN often hides weak crowds by not emphasizing them in the early broadcast, but when a school shows out like we all hope we can, they will \u00a0shower them with camera time on the intros and outros to commercial throughout that broadcast which also helps them hype the big show. JMU has outdone themselves and should absolutely be applauded for opening the parking lots at 6 a.m. so we can all park (with all our tailgate gear in tow) and then get up to the Quad. We know arriving that early seems insane, but we don’t have to tell you this is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of college football’s biggest stage and to showcase the place we all love. Get on it and no excuses.<\/li>\n
  2. ESPN will also air other programming from the Quad on Friday, beginning with live spots with Sam Ponder as early as 9 a.m. on Friday. Other set features will be filmed later Friday morning. Friday’s 30-minute College Football Live program will air at 2 p.m. from the Quad with a gathering of fans welcome in the Pit area. There will be additional SportsCenter live shots Friday evening. Everything we said about Saturday goes equally for Friday, though we’ve gotta admit we pretty much have to rely on students and locals for filling that set and setting the tone for what should be an incredible 36 hours.<\/li>\n
  3. Up to you, and we know the tailgating time will be a little compressed if you stay throughout the show, but if you’re anything like us, the hope of seeing Corso throw on that Duke Dog head right before noon will make it all worthwhile. Remember, most of us non-students (i.e. those of us not on set or in the pit), will simply be providing an incredible purple backdrop and hopefully entirely filling the quad. There will be downtime, quite a bit of it in a 3-hour show that will largely focus on the national FBS picture for the viewing public, but every single one of us is a little part of what will make this special and it’s entirely worth it. ESPN will also have big screens set up for all of us to pay attention. It will be hard to hear what’s going on at times, but again, how many times are you going to be on the Quad for something like this?! When in doubt, just root!<\/li>\n
  4. One really cool thing we’ve heard from NDSU fans is that the Producer, Lee Fitting, is actually the guy in charge of the whole thing and will be the one talking to, directing, and generally hyping the crowd during commercials. Needless to say, for a ’96 JMU alum, we’re guessing this will mean something special to him and as a group we ought to return that love.<\/li>\n
  5. Have fun. Remember there’s still 3 hours to catch up on tailgating.<\/li>\n
  6. If you can, bring a bag of streamers with you pretty much everywhere you go. As our buddy @Dukie95 said today<\/a>, if there’s a single purple or gold streamer left on the shelf of a party store or a Dollar General anywhere in the Commonwealth on Friday night, we’ve all failed.<\/li>\n
  7. Remember, Gameday itself is a three-hour party and generally just a celebration of everything that makes college football the best, most ridiculous good time around. It is NOT the game itself. There will be hundreds of fans from other schools on hand if our version is anything like the others. The famous Washington State flag, and it’s supporters, will certainly find their way to South Main St. Same goes for Lehigh, UVa, VT, and darn near every school within an 8-hour drive, including our opponents the hated Ticks and even that “school” in Norfolk. Making fun of them on signs is completely cool, but no need to be an ass in person. Save that part for the game at least.<\/li>\n
  8. Yes, it’s a long day, but find the right combination of pacing yourself, Red Bull, and preferably a flask of some type and save your biggest effort for the 4th quarter of the Spatter Stompin’!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n