{"id":8228,"date":"2015-11-29T20:05:53","date_gmt":"2015-11-30T01:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8228"},"modified":"2015-11-29T20:05:53","modified_gmt":"2015-11-30T01:05:53","slug":"guest-post-the-jmu-football-gameday-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8228","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: The JMU Football Gameday Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

First and foremost, thanks to Rob and Todd for the opportunity to post. I know these guys run this blog for the fun of it but they really do a great job providing insightful commentary and capturing the voice of all the passionate Dukes fans out there. I know for me personally, I\u2019ve really come to appreciate kicking off my week with their game recaps on Monday mornings. So, thanks guys.<\/p>\n

On first thought I considered using this post as an opportunity to write a clich\u00e9 pump-up for the big game next weekend. But rather than demanding students show up and stay for four quarters, I\u2019m going to put my COB Marketing hat on and go a little bit different route.<\/p>\n

Since I arrived on campus in 2009, it\u2019s safe to say that the state of the football program has changed dramatically. And while a new coaching regime, new uniforms, and a ESPN College Gameday appearance in our back pocket has certainly raised the bar in terms of national brand and relevancy, I\u2019d argue the single biggest impact on the program in the last 6 years (and moving forward) has been the addition of *new<\/b>* Bridgeforth Stadium. There\u2019s no denying the impact athletics has on a university\u2019s reputation and for a program looking to make that next big leap, making sure our football stadium and gameday atmosphere looks and feels the part is without question a huge part of the equation. And while I think we can all agree finishing off the \u201csmaller side\u201d of the stadium would be nice, in the meantime I think there\u2019s still plenty of opportunities for us as an athletic department and fanbase to improve upon in terms of what occurs inside that stadium.<\/p>\n

\"JMU-Villanova<\/a>More Streamers <\/b><\/p>\n

The streamers are by far my favorite part of JMU gamedays and not just because it looks so damn cool on a windy Saturday afternoon in November. What I love about the streamers is that it\u2019s OUR thing. Some schools do rally towels, some do shakers (please don\u2019t call them pom-poms\u2026), some do cowbells\u2014James Madison University does streamers. And because it developed organically and isn\u2019t something we ripped off from another school (looking at you Ticks\u2026), I truly believe it\u2019s one of the most unique traditions in all of College Football. With that said, I challenge the JMU fanbase to take complete ownership of it. And in general, we do a pretty good job. I commend the JMU fans and alums that hit the Party City the week before the game and make sure they don\u2019t walk into that stadium empty handed. But unless the athletic\/marketing department is handing out streamers from a trashbag in the concourse, how many fans and students realistically make it a point to bring streamers with them? Also, and I could be wrong, I believe I read recently that this year the university was forced to cut back on the number of employees on the post-game cleanup crew, and to prevent more work, less streamers were being handed out by the athletic marketing department. Not only do I think that\u2019s a sorry excuse from JMU (if it is in fact true), but it just means that as a fanbase and student body, we have to put in the extra effort to make this tradition as great as it can be. I have a dream of every single fan in Bridgeforth with a streamer in hand for a Brandon Ravenel TD catch.<\/p>\n

Death to the Thunderstix<\/b><\/p>\n

\"thunder<\/a>Thunderstix were cool back in 2002. In 2015, not so much. \u00a0For those sports fans that remember, Thunderstix jumped into the sports world back in 2002 during the Anaheim Angels World Series run. At the time, they were unique, loud, and paired great with a rally monkey<\/a>. Now, every game I attend at Bridgeforth I say a quick prayer before entering the student section that those damn thunderstix won\u2019t be waiting for me in my seat\u2014and every time they are. Look, I realize I\u2019m probably in the minority here. And while I must concede that about four airplane bottles into the second quarter those things turn into a great way to pick on your buddy that tailgated too hard, I still think they\u2019re lame. Growing up in SEC country, I\u2019ve always been a \u201cshaker\u201d guy. Can you imagine Bridgeforth with 25k purple\/gold shakers doing this<\/a>? The \u201cthunderstix add to the noise level\u201d argument is certainly fair, but count me as a guy that thinks we need to ship our supply back to Korean baseball stadiums where they belong.<\/p>\n

Singing of the Alma Mater<\/b><\/p>\n

\"alma<\/a>The singing of the JMU Alma Mater by the football team in the north endzone following each home game at Bridgeforth is one of my favorite things Coach Withers brought with him last year. \u00a0And while it\u2019s a pretty common tradition across College Football these days, I can appreciate the players heading over there, win or lose, and sharing a moment of school pride with the MRDs and the large amount of students and fans pouring out of their seats. But see, that last part is the problem. As a good buddy of mine pointed out last month in the JMUSB comments section following the loss to Richmond , and to quote him, \u201cif the players had the balls to go over to the stands after that loss, then we should have had the balls to stand there to support them.\u201d Win or lose, I\u2019d like to see all JMU fans, not just students, make an effort to head over to the north endzone before exiting the stadium. Let\u2019s show those players one final time each Saturday how much we appreciate the hard work they put in around the clock to represent our great university.<\/p>\n

I Can\u2019t Help Myself<\/b><\/p>\n

Alright, I lied. I didn\u2019t want to go down this road, but for anyone that was fortunate enough to make it to the Homecoming \u201cGameday\u201d game last month knows that was probably the best atmosphere we\u2019ve ever seen at Bridgeforth. The tailgating scene was great, the student section was rockin\u2019, and that day our fanbase showed JMU Football can be fun<\/b>. Imagine that. Look, we aren\u2019t Tech and we may never be\u2014and that\u2019s fine! But instead of complaining about how JMU \u201cisn\u2019t a football school\u201d, let\u2019s do something about it. Let\u2019s ride the momentum that Gameday brought us and support our team on their national championship journey these next couple weeks. Get to Harrisonburg next weekend. Tailgate hard. Root fer Dukes.<\/p>\n