Michael Gabriel ’28 is a history major. Besides writing and editing opinion pieces, he contributes an issue of his Willy and Mary comic almost every edition. He is a big baseball fan, likes the outdoors and is always happy to talk to anyone about anything. Contact him at mdgabriel@wm.edu.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
My fellow students of the College of William and Mary, I want to let you all in on a little secret. Some people may scoff at the mere mention of this truth, but I think it is time that we as a college community come together and admit it.
WE ARE A FOOTBALL SCHOOL.
Whatever doubts I and many others had in our school’s football program were silenced on Aug. 28 when we made our Patriot League debut in an extraordinary fashion. With less than a minute to go and their backs against the wall, the Tribe scored 13 unanswered points to beat ranked Villanova (sorry Pope Leo XIV and Jalen Brunson). I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that I’ve never been more excited about one of our football games than I was on that night. It was magical. If you want to read more about the actual team and our home opener win against Delaware State, flip the page. Now, if you want to see how we, yes, the College, is a football school, keep reading.
When you think of college football, certain names obviously come to mind, but who needs Charlottesville, Va., Tuscaloosa, Ala., Ann Arbor, Mich. or Baton Rouge, La. anyway? Williamsburg, Va. is where it’s at! The Rose Bowl? Beaver Stadium? Lane Stadium? Never heard of them! Our Zable Stadium may hold just over 12,000 seated fans, but it’s a loud bunch even at 25% capacity with just the pep band in attendance! Now, if there are free shirts being handed out, that’s a whole different story. In that case, you know the student section will be packed … for the first quarter at least.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish may have football Jesus on their side, but we have two (potentially related) married English monarchs and a mythical creature on ours! The griffin, who apparently has a name — Reveley — makes his rounds throughout the game, high-fiving fans and dancing with the dance team. He truly is a national treasure. The College’s alumni and members of the Williamsburg community will also always show out, filling the grandstand opposite the student section. In short, at its best, Zable emits school spirit during every home game, T-shirt pending, but we can do better.
Now, if you’re looking for something to do after the game, our night life is unmatched! Off-campus parties go till 11 p.m. (how late!) because the elderly couple 12 houses down thought that the students were feeling the rain on their skin a little too loudly. If there is noise even a second after 11 p.m., I am so sorry for you. A squadron of Williamsburg cops fit for Gotham City is already coming down the block. Whether it’s the Williamsburg retirees or the bored undercover cop who “ends” your night, fear not! A whole ‘nother world is waiting for you.
There are four bars right off campus! Yes, that’s right. Four whole bars! Well, actually, two of them are delis (both spelled differently, of course), one is a cafe, and another’s a tavern, but for all intents and purposes, we have four bars! Are they all owned by the same person? Maybe. Do the different naming schemes cause a little confusion? Sometimes. But will your postgame celebration experience be unforgettable and uniquely “William and Mary”? Yes.
All jokes aside, at Paul’s Deli in particular, you are literally surrounded by school spirit. There are old team photos, jerseys, plaques, autographed pictures and more, all dedicated to the College and the history of all its sports programs. Remember, our school’s football program is a storied one. We may not have the trophy room of the big teams, but we’ve gone toe to toe with football giants in our past. We’ve sent players to the NFL. Former long-time Steelers coach Mike Tomlin ’95, L.H.D. ’08 and Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott ’98 are both alumni of our program (both let go this offseason, unfortunately). McDermott’s successor in Buffalo, Joe Brady ’13, too, is an alum! If you ever have the time, take a walk through the lobby of the Jimmye Laycock Football Center. There are trophies and memorabilia displayed, and the walls are covered in photos and information about the football program’s history. It will hype you up for the games.
People, here and across the state, think that our school is solely an academically-driven environment. We don’t care about our athletics, they say, and they have precedent to say such things. According to a 1979 WAVY TV broadcast, the Board of Visitors was planning to expand the stadium at Carey Field from 14,000 to 30,600 seats ($2 million-plus price tag) but faced an organized student boycott of classes, resulting in roughly 75% of students skipping class and 80% of exams that day being canceled. All this was done out of concern that the funds for the stadium would have been diverted from academic areas towards the athletic department. If that isn’t the work of twamps, I don’t know what is. But just because we care about academics doesn’t mean we can’t care about our football team, too. People often forget or don’t even realize that we are a D1 program: a Football Championship Subdivision program, yes, but D1 is D1.
There is untapped potential here, and I think we tapped into a little during that game against Villanova. Yes, attendance isn’t always the greatest, especially toward October, but we can change that. We have a fresh start. We’re in the Patriot League now. Here’s our chance as a program, a college and a fanbase to start a new chapter. Let’s seize the moment. This Saturday we play Lehigh University, another storied program who has won the Patriot League the last two seasons. It also happens to be where my sister attends (the Mountain Hawks are going down, Stavroula!). Yes, it is an away game, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have spirit. I want to see green and gold all over campus and eyes glued to every TV — from the dorm lounges to the bars. Even if Saturday doesn’t go our way, let’s treat every game for the rest of the season as if it is the playoffs. Let’s have fun with it.
We are not Alabama. We are not Ohio State. And we sure as hell aren’t the University of Virginia. We are the College of William and Mary. We’re our own thing.
GO TRIBE.
