By: Houston Stutz
Photo of the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
With it being Spring and the school year almost over, that means everyone is already talking about next year in JMU Sports.
The Spring Scrimmage is Saturday for the football team and it will give everyone a first glance at the team, which looks to knock off the West Virginia Mountaineers on September 15.
JMU Football is said to have the top recruiting class in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) for next season. With a playoff appearance this past season, JMU Nation is only hoping the Dukes will improve and we can all celebrate a national championship.
What if the class is a big flop? JMU Nation will be highly upset and some may even want Mickey Matthews out of Harrisonburg. A lot can change in sports in a short amount of time with injuries or discipline issues like last season.
JMU received a lot of hype last season only to lose our starting quarterback a few games in. The team still made the playoffs, but could the chemistry have improved and JMU made it further with a starter who played all season?
What about JMU Baseball?
The Diamond Dukes were predicted to win the CAA again, but late in the season they are battling to even qualify for the CAA Tournament. One suspension and a few injuries seemed to have hurt their season drastically.
Or JMU Basketball?
The Dukes just recently signed Serbian forward Dimitrije Cabarkapa, which adds some hype to next season since everyone is trying to forget about this last season. JMU Basketball was also predicted to at least be decent in basketball this past season and finish behind conference powerhouses, GMU, VCU, and ODU. Instead, the Dukes were struggling to keep enough players ready to play and win at home.
The Dukes will have a great chance to finish well, with many players returning to the lineup.
I’d rather not here anything about JMU Sports in their respected offseason, because when I do I think to myself, “Alright, that’s a key addition, I can’t wait to see them next year! The future is looking good.”
But, I always set myself up for heartbreak when something wild happens or the teams just decide to not show up.
This year, though, Cross Country won the CAA Championship and so did the Swimming and Diving team. I never heard a thing about these teams in the offseason. (But then again these teams do not receive the media coverage they deserve.) It’s always a nice surprise to click on JMUSports.com and read about a championship I didn’t expect, rather than how good a team is predicted to do or the disappointment of losing due to preseason polls.
What if every season was a surprise and no one knew what was expected of a team or had high expectations?
I know this can’t happen in reality. Sports Journalists cannot just take off work, as well. They need to have something to write about.
In a perfect world, wouldn’t you like to see less preseason talk, so the end result can always seem a little bit better?
Do not forget, though, JMU does have teams who can live up to their expectations like Men’s Soccer (NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance), Women’s Basketball (WNIT Finals), and others previously mentioned.
Sports, on Sports, on Sports: NY, Philly, and JMU. 