Homecoming yesterday was like a family reunion. Forget our great football team for a second. Beautiful weather, incredible friends and libations to enhance all of it. What a scene and a chance to get away from all of life’s struggles for a day.

There are times I look around during games and tears well up in my eyes. I just never dreamed we would be all that we are today. How blessed are all of us to be part of something so special. I for one promise to never take any of this for granted.

It is and always will be great to be a Duke!

Word

Cheers Nation. We have a lot to be thankful for

Dukes are the best

Dukes Crush at life

OJF is smiling down on the Dukes!

Well said Nation, thanks

Actually, I thought of OJF when I was typing my post this morning. No one loved a good tailgate more than him. He loved family and JMU was family to him. He and I had that in common and I believe those shared feelings had a lot to do with us becoming friends. Without JMU sports, we never would have met.

Dukes are the best... at everything!

Sissies. Grow a pair.

I was walking through Chicago O'Hare wearing an old JMU sweatshirt last week and suddenly I hear "Go Dukes!" I turn around and a guy says, "What year?" I say, "'94!" and he says, "I got you by a few years--'89!"

We're everywhere.

And I love JMU too.

OJF loved reading braille and makers mark! God bless him.

We all have funny OJF stories. I could share several with you off the top of my head. They all involve JMU and bourbon.

Seriously, his greatest quality was his loyalty to his friends and family. When you met OJF, you were unlikely to forget him.

(10-30-2017 07:14 PM)JMUNation Wrote:  We all have funny OJF stories. I could share several with you off the top of my head. They all involve JMU and bourbon.

Seriously, his greatest quality was his loyalty to his friends and family. When you met OJF, you were unlikely to forget him.

I CERTAINLY HAVE NOT .... I MISS THE DUDE !!!!!

The nice thing about being a "small school" is that you only wear the gear or recognize the gear if you're connected to the school. If you see someone wearing Michigan gear and you went to Michigan, you might not say something to them. But if you see someone in JMU gear, you know you're connected to them through one or two steps.

I wore a JMU hoodie at Disneyland Paris the summer before I went there. Someone stopped us in a restaurant and said, "Hey! Do you goto JMU?"

(10-31-2017 08:34 PM)DukeDogNation Wrote:  The nice thing about being a "small school" is that you only wear the gear or recognize the gear if you're connected to the school. If you see someone wearing Michigan gear and you went to Michigan, you might not say something to them. But if you see someone in JMU gear, you know you're connected to them through one or two steps.

I wore a JMU hoodie at Disneyland Paris the summer before I went there. Someone stopped us in a restaurant and said, "Hey! Do you goto JMU?"

True, although that's changing. We're now a 20,000 student school (as you know) and there are a lot more students, alums and parents out there than just a few years ago.

I've been back in Virginia for 10 years and still speak to anyone wearing JMU clothing. My wife thinks I'm an idiot and says, " You know, that's not unusual here in Virginia" but I still do it anyway.

I loike toitles

(11-02-2017 11:30 AM)Dukes94 Wrote:  

(10-31-2017 08:34 PM)DukeDogNation Wrote:  The nice thing about being a "small school" is that you only wear the gear or recognize the gear if you're connected to the school. If you see someone wearing Michigan gear and you went to Michigan, you might not say something to them. But if you see someone in JMU gear, you know you're connected to them through one or two steps.

I wore a JMU hoodie at Disneyland Paris the summer before I went there. Someone stopped us in a restaurant and said, "Hey! Do you goto JMU?"

True, although that's changing. We're now a 20,000 student school (as you know) and there are a lot more students, alums and parents out there than just a few years ago.

I've been back in Virginia for 10 years and still speak to anyone wearing JMU clothing. My wife thinks I'm an idiot and says, " You know, that's not unusual here in Virginia" but I still do it anyway.

That's totally true! Being smack dab in the middle of B1G country, my partner went to Indiana, he would NEVER say "go hoosiers" passing someone on the street, but I allllllways do, and will, say "go dukes" and get a smile and a "J-M-U" back.

The closest B1G comes to having a school where the person wearing the gear probably went there is Purdue... the red-headed stepchild of Indiana... the joke being "Indiana folk have Notre Dame football shirts that reverse into Indiana basketball jerseys" and anyone wearing Purdue must have actually gone there. Purdue sucks!

Grandparents are getting into it too - I’ve been stopped twice in last few months by folks wanting to talk about their grandkids going to JMU. The most comments I’ve ever received was the Saturday morning after the NDSU game when I went to Costco. I must have had at least 5 or 6 people make comments or stop me to talk about the game. I don’t think more than 1 or 2 we’re actually JMU people.