A Great End to the Marching Season

Our final home game of the regular season saw the Warriors defeat the Vikings of Niles North in convincing fashion. The band finished their season on the field in similar manner, with a reprise performance of the "Drive My Car" drill, complete with "flip-flops" and "stupid bass drum tricks." Okay, so this would make more sense with a video, but imagine one trombone player twisting to the right while the next trombone player bows underneath the slide. Then imagine this going back and forth. Then imagine this going back and forth very quickly. Then imagine this going back and forth very quickly while playing a tricky call and response section. Then imagine this going back and forth very quickly while playing a tricky call and response section multiplied by about 50 musicians, including sousaphones, and you get the idea. Now, imagine bass drummers leaning forward so their drums are on the ground, and they're standing on their heads with their feet in the air. It was quite the show!

My favorite part of the evening, however, was before the game. We have a very old tradition that dates back to the late 1980s. Each year, a senior is chosen to recite the band poem, which is our "psych up" chant for every performance. It's a position of great honor that is passed down from one person to the next over the years. This year, Hudy is the official reciter, and he has performed this task with great verve. However, for the last game, instead of beginning with the first line, "Marching Band is cool," he counted to three. Then every senior said the poem along with him. This was his way of sharing the spotlight with his peers and allowing everyone the opportunity to carry on the tradition. It was such a cool, unselfish act--I got choked up just watching them.

Later in the game, Josh passed on his role as official M&M catcher to Jacob. Again, this is quite an honor, especially since Josh is the all-time record holder. At one game, he caught 20+ M&M's in row. Note that the candy is placed on a bass drum head and launched into the air with a mighty stroke of the beater, and that it must be caught in the mouth. Pretty impressive! It was great seeing another torch passed.

So, a special "thank you" to all my seniors, who have acted with great class all year. I hope all of you juniors were paying attention, because it will be up to you to continue with the same leadership and pride in 2012!