A few priceless items I've held on to over the years to remind me of the '04 JMU @ W&M football game.

As Harry Doyle would say – Hello, everybody, Seth Saunders here, welcoming all you Friends of the Feather to another season of Tribe football and basketball.

Since this is the first entry, figured I would tell y’all a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in Tappahannock, VA, a small town that sits on the banks of the Rappahannock River, rooting for the Washington Redskins and the Baltimore Orioles.

After high school, I headed to the ‘Burg and spent four of the best years of my life jumping the wall at College (or, “The People’s Delly”), streaking the Sunken Garden, playing late-night wiffle ball in the Wachovia parking lot, and having an all-around fantastic time.

And while I cherish all of those memories, none compare to my two favorite moments as a Tribe fan.

The first came on an unseasonably warm and humid night in early December of 2004. In front of a capacity crowd at Zable and a national television audience on ESPN2, The College played its first home game under the lights.

And although Lang Campbell and the boys came up short against the Dukes that night, Zable Stadium in Williamsburg didn’t feel much different from being “Between the Hedges” in Athens, GA, at The Horseshoe in Columbus, or at Death Valley in Baton Rouge.

The second was really a collection of moments. During a blustery weekend in early March, holed up in a tiny apartment in the North End of Boston, I chewed every fingernail down to the nub watching The College’s cagers pull out last second wins over Georgia State, ODU and VCU en route to their first CAA Championship game appearance since 1983.

Jim Larranaga’s Patriots proved too strong for the Tribe on Championship Monday, but Coach Shaver and the 2008 squad helped usher in a new attitude in regards to Tribe basketball.  They laid the groundwork for an NIT appearance two years later.

Since leaving Williamsburg, I’ve spent time in Boston, Washington D.C. and Charleston, South Carolina, proudly Harking Upon the Gale at each stop along the way.

As your William & Mary blogger, I look forward to being with you for each and every football and basketball game this season and hopefully experiencing a few more moments like the ones I recounted above.

If you have any questions or want me to cover a particular topic, shoot me a message and I will get right on it. Here’s to ringing in the New Year in Frisco, TX and wearing dancing shoes in March!

HARK