The sporting event that I chose to attend was on November
29th, 2014 in Harrisonburg Virginia at James Madison University. This was the
first round of the FCS football playoffs featuring the Liberty Flames and the
JMU Dukes. For the first time in the school’s history, Liberty had finally made
the playoffs coming in ranking at 23rd in the nation while JMU stood strong at
15th.
The journey began at my house in Bealeton Virginia where we
got set to embark on the 2 hour drive to the stadium. When we got close to
Harrisonburg we turned the radio to listen to the LFSN pregame show and hear
what the commentators had to say about both teams. This was the first official
form of communication we received about the event. The announcers had several
good things to say about each team and really made the point that this game was
a big rivalry between two very good teams that had several offensive threats to
keep an eye out for.
As we drew closer to the campus I did notice that there were
no promotional signs along the highway for the Dukes, I then compared this fact
to Liberty and how when driving into Lynchburg there is a very large billboard
stating "you are now in Flames Nation." Upon our arrival on the
beautiful campus of JMU, it did not take us very long to see the first form of
non-verbal communication, a light sign directing cars to where certain parking
lots were. Free parking was on the opposite side of interstate 81 from the
stadium and closer parking would require a cash payment. We decided to park
closer to the stadium and pay the $10 to have a much shorter walk. There were
many signs directing cars into the lot as well as event staff answering
questions and directing cars that may have been lost. As we pulled into the
parking lot there were two event staff members that took our money and gave us
a ticket to put in the windshield and make sure that we knew which spots we
were allowed to park in.
As we walked to the stadium it was not hard to find our way.
The parking lot was a mere 1 block away from the stadium and you could see it
very clearly behind some dorms. We were instructed to receive our tickets from
gate B which was where the family members and friends of the LU players picked
up their free tickets. As we approached the stadium it was slightly confusing
as to where gate B was but it did not take long for us to find yet another
event worker to point us in the right direction. The walk into the stadium was
quite amusing indeed, as we were a few minutes late and had missed the opening
kickoff, there were several JMU students who were quite intoxicated from their
pregame tailgating who decided it appropriate to shout profanity in our
direction as I was wearing my team issued LU football apparel.
Bridgeforth Stadium was stunning as we entered inside. A turf
field surrounded by purple and gold bleachers that seemed to stretch to the sky
and a massive screen at one end of the field. I was very surprised in my
discovery that JMU's stadium only sat 25,000 fans which is not much more than
that of Liberty's stadium but it appeared to be so much larger. The non-verbal
communication continued even throughout the inside of the stadium itself.
Seating sections were clearly marked and there were event staff members at each
set of stairs directing fans to where their seats were. Signs were hung
throughout pointing the way to restrooms and concessions and even a number to
text in the case that there was a problem in the stands.
The game itself was one for the record books. The two teams
started off very equal in many aspects and it was a battle from the very
beginning. Both Liberty and JMU played very physical and fast but by the time
halftime rolled around JMU lead Liberty 21-10. The second half showed the true
character of both teams. Liberty scored 16 unanswered points and kept JMU's
explosive offense from scoring at all. LU's defense made the game winning play
when number 14 Kenny Scott deflected a 4th down pass giving Liberty the ball
with 53 seconds remaining and left Liberty with a 26-21 victory over the JMU Dukes.
All in all the experience that I had at this game was great
even though I had several JMU students provoking me upon my entry. The event
was well managed and even though they lost, the JMU event staff were very
willing to assist in any way they could and they showed great hospitality to
the LU fans. The LU crowed was electric and seemed to be louder than the JMU
fans for a good majority of the game. Exiting the stadium was just as easy as
it was getting in. Police and event staff were all on hand to direct traffic in
an orderly fashion out of the parking lots and towards the highway. With
everything said I would definitely return to this venue for another game if one
were to arise in the future.