Across the nation, teams and fans have made it clear they are ready to get back to football after tumultuous off-seasons at both the collegiate and professional ranks.
The Marquette club football team is no exception, especially after a lack of player attendance last year forced an early end to the season. Thanks to renewed player interest and many new faces, the 2011 squad hopes to turn things around this season.
“We are really optimistic about this year,” junior defensive lineman and team president Jason Braun said. “We have a good set of captains and we’ve had good turnouts the last few days of practice. We are hoping to make a big run this year and to make a name for ourselves at Marquette.”
Sophomore quarterback Jon Harrington, who missed most of what season there was last year with a concussion, expects more in 2011.
“Last season obviously we got cancelled, so I think the biggest thing we want to do this year is make sure everyone is committed,” Harrington said. “Everyone should come to the practices, because even when we did play games last year we weren’t as prepared as we should’ve been.”
The team began practices last week and needs more players, especially at the offensive and defensive line positions. Marquette still has four weeks of practice before its first game at Miami of Ohio on Sept. 25. Its home opener is Oct. 1st against Wisconsin-Parkside at Valley Fields, where all home games and practices are held.
The team can support a roster of up to 50 students, and offers the same full padded, high intensity, 11-on-11 play that other collegiate athletes experience. Past experience is not required to join the team, however, and practice attendance isn’t held to quite the same standards as a high school or NCAA team.
“New faces are always welcome,” junior defensive lineman and Vice President Thomas McInerny said. “We have guys who show up at every practice and those are the guys who usually play, but we understand that everyone can’t be at every practice. A player may not necessarily be benched if he misses one practice.”
McInerny said the aura of optimism surrounding the team this season stems mostly from better organization and more new players.
The Golden Eagles play other club teams from around the Midwest, including Ohio State and Miami of Ohio while also taking on instate rivals Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin Lutheran College.
Much like the NFL and its painstaking journey to avoid a lockout over the summer and the NCAA with its scandals, the Marquette club football team seeks a triumphant return to the field. While getting back to football has become a common theme entering the fall, with it comes a reversion to the basic values that players and fans take from the sport.
“The number one thing is you get to play football, and you get to hit someone.” Braun said. “You have a lot of fun with your friends without the type of requirements a Division I school would put on you.”