Tomorrow night is the last home football game of the season — the last time you can support the Tribe, tailgate with your friends and scream your lungs out at our favorite safety school under the lights. We hope you won’t miss it.
p. What makes this game more important than ever is not only the heartbreaking loss in the final minute to James Madison University two years ago, but also that the team has shown a great deal of promise. The tenacity with which it played against Massachusetts on homecoming — a team then ranked in the top 5 of the Football Championship Series — was an inspiring performance on which the Tribe must build against JMU, which is currently ranked 14th.
p. Junior quarterback Jake Phillips is rapidly becoming a bona fide star in the CAA, the defense has improved consistently and there are a host of young players that will shine in future years. With such promise on the field, students, faculty and alumni alike must keep the spirit alive in the stands.
p. It is certainly frustrating that members of the administration have stumbled so systematically on the College’s new logo, not to mention the prospect of a mascot, which doesn’t even appear to be on the table at the moment. Despite these blunders, the players don’t care, and they’ve been showing it on the gridiron all season.
p. Any upperclassman understands the significance of this game. It was only three years ago that ESPN brought in stadium lighting so students could watch their team compete for a chance to play for the I-AA title in front of a national television audience. The following year, the first regularly scheduled night game took place, with the Tribe falling to the Dukes of JMU by a field goal in the final seconds.
p. Tomorrow, we welcome them back. The student section is conveniently located right behind JMU’s bench, and we hope that every student at the College will come with their voices ready to make it a miserable night for the opposition.
p. Prior to the game, undergraduate class officers and student assembly members will be handing out foam fingers to promote spirit at the game. Even if you don’t manage to get your hands on one, we hope that you and all of your friends will come out to Zable ready to raise a finger or two at JMU.