Rant #20 - "March On"

As I briefly mentioned yesterday, it was the start of college football yesterday. While I'm simply a sports nut - I understand there are a variety of other things that get people excited about game day. When I get to my seat about 20 mins early - I enjoy watching the warm up videos on the big screen, listening to the starting line ups and just generally chatting about the upcoming gridiron matchup. But there is something else going on while I'm off in la-la land. And that small little thing, is the old marching band.

Now, I don't want to come off as a band snob or anything. I've gone to the UW Band's performances outside of sporting events as well. They're usually quite entertaining. When I'm in sports mode though, nothing else matters to me. I took a couple to the game last night, and the wife of the tandem wanted to head to the Union where the band performs before the game starts. I don't think I'd ever done that in my life, so I figured what the heck - let's give it a whirl. The Union is brand new and gorgeous, and a perfect venue for the band to put some show on. Now, they're all seated so you don't get the full marching experience - but it was fun to hear them play. To think about how hard these guys work, and how much time goes into their performances and all that, it's pretty amazing.

The bigger performance comes at the end of the games. Win or loss, rain or shine, the UW band performs in what they call, "The 5th Quarter". Now, I've been a regular season ticket holder for 7 years now, and had student tickets 2 years prior to that. And I can honestly count on one hand the amount of times I've stayed and watched the 5th Quarter. They usually do a random collection of dance favorites, and typically the same songs week over week. The Chicken Dance, Steve Miller's 'Swingtown', 'Shout' among many other songs that get the crowd up and moving after 3 hours of sitting and watching football. A really neat idea, and an overall fun time.

I think in general, the bands like that tend to get overlooked by the general population. Everyone knows and understand how hard the athletes work on and off the field to maintain grades, practice and try to have any sort of social life. Well, the band goes through similar strife, without any of the real recognition. If you're ever in town, check out their spring performances sometime. They tend to play more regular songs versus the ones that make everyone get up and dance. It's a really neat show. I'm sure wherever you're reading this - you have some college town relatively close to you that does something similar. Go check 'em out. Music doesn't always have to be so cookie cutter and the same, mix it up with a little marching band action sometime. You might be surprised how much fun you have.

Have a great, safe holiday weekend B Siders!