And the band plays on ...

At 7 a.m., I realized that those people have true dedication.

I paused for a moment to admire the early risers. I began to get nostalgic, and I thought about how great it is to be able to roll out of bed, and hear the band in the wee hours of a Saturday morning. Granted, it didn't wake me up, so maybe that makes a difference in my perception of the occasion, but nonetheless, I was a little sentimental.

The sounds were like the kick-off before kick-off when all the tailgaters were just arriving and the students were barely getting out of bed (except for those crazy folks who enjoyed kegs and eggs just before sunrise). It was one of those "perfect moments" that we sometimes hear about. It was something that felt so comfortable.

The band has become an important symbol of my college experience. Call it cheesy if you must, but it's true.

I have become accustomed to the sound of the band on Friday afternoons. In a way, it announces the end of the week, and a start to the weekend. It makes a fall afternoon almost perfect, and has become, in a sense, a tradition.

Two weeks ago, The Michigan Daily played The Eastern Michigan Echo in a friendly game of touch football. Our game time happened to coincide with the band's practice time, and we would joke about how members of the group should come and lend us some musical support.

And then it happened. After a touchdown by one of our talented sports writers, the band started into "The Victors" - as if on cue. We knew it wasn't really for us, but it fit, and it was fun to pretend just the same. We clapped along, and sang the song, it was all quite poetic indeed. It capped off the spirit of the afternoon with absolute perfection.

Sure there are moments when the band can seem tired. This past weekend, for instance, it didn't all seem there. There's generally a seemingly long half-time, when a majority of fans leave to get food, use the bathroom or do some other half-time thing to avoid it all. I'll admit I have tried to take a brief 15-minute nap in my seat while the band performs its weekly ritual.

I was, however, shocked with its presentation against Eastern Michigan. Hey, I dislike "Titanic" as much as the next guy, but that whole thing with the band members grouping in the shape of that old sunken ship, complete with the fire extinguishers for steam, was quite creative and entertaining, and very cool. And to think: I was starting to worry that band members had fire extinguishers out there in case a tuba exploded or something.

It was then when I realized that the Marching Band is really a staple of the entire Michigan experience. I'm sure that this can be refuted, but I can't tell you a time when the words "Band take the field," combined with the sounds of the drums and the sight of the 235-member Marching Band charging the field hasn't given me chills. And I'm sure I'm not alone.

Even when I am waiting inside the Stadium in that long line outside section 26, and I hear it, it sends a shiver run down my spine. Although, I have yet to see it for myself this year because of that major traffic jam at the section's entrance, it stills gets the adrenaline rushing. I can only hope that in the three games remaining of my lifetime as a Michigan student, that I can actually get to the stadium five minutes earlier and escape the half-hour wait. I am starting to worry that I am running out of chances to see the band charge the field with all its ambiance and charisma.

Maybe it's my age that is making feel all sentimental for the Band. Before the Notre Dame game, I bought the CD so that we could listen to it in the car en route to South Bend. Then, as it turns out, we were among the cheesy folks who drive into the opposition's arena with our marching band's music blaring loud and clear.

Each game day, I think about how this is one step closer to being my last. I used to laugh at this mentality, and in couple of years, I'm sure I'll laugh at it again, but now it seems so important when it comes to football Saturdays. It's like everything's coming to an end.

Then again, I think it's just the band itself. Sometimes, I worry that it doesn't get the credit it deserves, nor is appreciated for all its worth. But if we only think of it in terms of all that it stirs in us within the first minutes of the game, then we know that without the band, Michigan football nor the Michigan sporting experience in general would never be the same without it.

The Michigan Marching Band turns 100 this year, and I salute it and its members. I applaud you all for your Saturday morning practices, your hard work and for wearing those incredibly heavy uniforms when it feels like it is 90 degrees outside.

There is something intrinsically amazing about the Michigan Marching Band that may be difficult to relate in words, but that we can always hear in its music. It is something 100 percent Michigan that revives all the memories from the first year to the last that we experience.

So happy birthday Marching Band. To all your practices, all the half-time shows and, of course, the charge onto the field, thanks, for everything. We really appreciate it.

- Kristin Long can be reached via e-mail at klong@umich.edu

Kristin Long Daily Arts Editor

10-01-98