Go Bananas, Go Go Bananas!!!

      The cadence of the percussionists keeping the beat. Our feet keeping the pulse to the steady beating of the drum. The gate to the stadium opens with a creaking squeal. The green of the field is shocking under the bright lights of the football stadium. Players are already out, tossing the ball, running drills, giving last minute pep talks, and sizing up the enormous players of the opposing team. The scoreboard is ticking down the seconds until the game is to begin, and the smell of hot dogs and popcorn is in the air. I look to the crowd, a full house. The section of bleachers just reserved for students is jam packed full, all camouflage clad, as the school is dedicating the game to military appreciation. As we get in formation to enter the field, all football players and coaches are shooed away from the green. We're cued, and we march onto the field like trained soldiers. Left, right, left, right. Beads of sweat are trickling down the collar of my wool marching band uniform in the ninety-three degree heat. Instruments up, and we march down field blasting the school song. The crowd is buzzing with school pride, screaming and cheering. Not for the band whatsoever, but for the game that is about to ensue. Then the national anthem swells from my clarinet, and in the last few words: "O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave." the student section bursts with pride, chanting "U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A!" To top it all off, the beating of something flying overhead turns into the deafening chopping of a helicopter doing a flyby just over my head. The coast guard apparently had something specially arranged.
       The band then creates a sort of tunnel. The football players at one end, and then as we play a quick and bright tune, they sprint through the tunnel, to the other side, and the game is to begin. It's quite uneventful for the first half of the game, though the student section never lost any volume, the cheer team on the sidelines ensured this. Every once and a while, if things were dying down too much, they'd break out in to some kind of cheer that involved the audience, in order to get them pumped up again. Something like "Go bananas, go go bananas!", triggering the audience to repeat, and do as the chant says: GO BANANAS! Half time has arrived, and the score is an unpromising 3-3, one field goal per team. The band does our half time show, playing the songs of West Side Story while making different shapes and styles on the field. We're followed by a dance routine, and a flags routine. And the team is ready to resume the game. As the score is tied up, both teams have come back ready to fight. The other side's bleachers were surprisingly filled as well, all of the students blindingly showing off their school pride in bright yellow attire and booing our team as they run back on to the field.
       The second half is to begin. It wasn't looking like it would ever shape up to be a particularly exciting game. A touchdown was scored for our team, then the other team, tying it up once again. The clock was running dangerously low. Due to the heat and lateness of the hour, no one wanted that game to run into overtime. Coaches for both sides are plotting vigorously against one another as key players are soaking themselves with the water from Gatorade bottles. A whistle blows, and the players smash into one another once again. Everyone around me was cheering harder than ever, so I guess our team was doing something wonderful; someone next to me explained that we had gotten a first down, whatever that means. The teams come together to plot for a few more seconds before another play begins, and all of a sudden the crowd goes WILD! The band is cued to get on our feet and blast the school song once again. A touchdown was scored, and we secured the lead. The game had been won.
       First home football game of the year: check.