Strike Up the Band

This past Saturday morning, for the first time in a number of years, I ventured down to the loveliest village on the plains for Auburn's Homecoming game against UT-Chattanooga. I was coming right off a week-long business trip to Maryland, and as such my family had gone down ahead of me. With kickoff at noon, I managed to get a few hours sleep Friday night before waking up at 0-dark thirty for the 4 hour drive down to Auburn.

In past years, my wife and I would play with the alumni band during Homecoming, but this year because of the uncertainty of my travel schedule, we opted for the cheap seats in the upper deck. The Auburn band was very much a focal point of my Auburn experience, not the least of which is due to the influence of my best friend who would become my beloved wife of nearly 17 years now. My Auburn marching career was limited to 1991-1993, as I had elected to put aside the music for my freshman year. Late in my sophomore year, I began playing in Auburn's concert and symphonic bands before getting talked into marching in the fall of 1991. Without a doubt, my time in the Auburn University Marching Band remains one of the most treasured periods of my life. It is mostly about the music, but like so many before me and after me, words fail to describe the full experience of being on the field surrounded by 87,000 football fans.

So it should be unsurprising that the gameday experience this past weekend tugged on some emotional strings for me. This video below is the new "intro" that gets played on the stadium jumbotron before the band enters the field for its pregame show:


Pretty cool stuff, but I do have mixed feelings about it. Back in my day (oh, boy, now I'm talking like an old guy), Jordan-Hare didn't have a jumbotron. When the Auburn Band entered the field - you knew we were there. We didn't need some flashy videotronics to announce the fact. However, what I do appreciate about the video is the respect shown from the University, and from the fans. This link here is video of the above, taken by a fan in the stands. I offer it simply as a window into the crowd response.

Watching the band perform on Saturday (even if it was just a static Homecoming show) was a moving experience for me, bringing back a flood of memories. Maybe over the holidays, I'll take some time and convert some of our old VHS tapes of marching band performances and post some excerpts on YouTube (properly cited, of course).

Watching a younger generation on the field, I was amazed at the strong affinity I have for what they do to prepare for each and every show. And I was reminded, that no matter what happens with Auburn's football team, and with their star quarterback, I am and remain an Auburn man.

Because, true to the creed, "I believe in Auburn and love it."