Tekkbabe does football...high school football. The game last night was at Rossford, and in all of the eight years that I have been following the marching band and football team, the Rossford game has always been the one that officially gives notice that winter is around the corner. There have been a few games in the past that were punctuated by gusty cold winds, and snow, and even if the snow did not come, the view from the stands of the area surrounding the sunken stadium always reveals either trees in full color or beginning to be bare, depending on the weather of the week before.
The drive to Rossford takes me down Interstate 75 south through downtown Toledo, where you can observe what there is of a skyline, with some locally recognizable buildings, and the High Level Bridge, which is one of the bridges in the area that crosses the Maumee River. The route is direct and really hard to mess up, so in my zealous efforts to get there with plenty of time to spare, I actually arrived fully 45 minutes before game time. Thankfully, I brought my iPod along and had loaded it pretty thoroughly with some of my favs, so I plugged in, ignoring the banter of the Rossford fans that were sitting all around me, and got out the camera to take a few photos while I waited.
This was a home game for Rossford and as such they did pregame. One of the signature things that they do is create their Rossford "R" on the field as they play the pregame music, and then move the same down the field to play the fight song as their team enters the field. They are a very small band compared to Northview's over 200, so their formations are a little more limited, and to be honest they must stay basically facing the stands to play to be heard. They do pretty well musically, and their football fans seem to support the band as well. 
They do have one exclusively Rossford feature that I personally have a little difficulty wrapping my head around (see photo) The two bass players and their "amp guy" stroll out into the middle of the field and stand static during the band performance, and move in the most marching way they can as formations change. NV has used a bass player during a show this year, as a featured soloist on the sidelines, so I can see the value added musically on a temporary basis, but the whole marching bass guitar thing has me a little confounded. To add insult to injury, the band has no low brass (sousaphones) so I can only assume that the guitars may be substituted for them (?)
There was an audible ripple of comment through the crowd as the NV contingent took the field. As you can see by the photo (left) the band is so large at well over 200 members, that even when taken from the very top of the stands for the sunken stadium, the entire band could not be included in the regular type photos that I take. Note that in the background of the photo is the ENTIRE Rossford marching band, in comparison, nothing more than a little blob of red and white. The NV cheerleading staff and football team are equally large and intimidating; nearly quadruple the number of cheerleaders, and the football players were much more numerous and larger than the Rossford folks. At this time, as the NV kids were taking their places on the field, I was no longer listening to my iPod. I was disconcerted at the snide comments and sarcasm with which the NV presence was received. In defense of our school district, the community supports and values both the music and athletic programs in the district, and because they do, many many students choose to participate. NV parents do "pay to participate" for their students, and commit time, effort and money to assuring that these opportunities remain available. It was intriguing to hear the opinions expressed by the folks that were sitting around me pertaining to the assumptions of affluence regarding the Sylvania kids and parents. I'm here to tell you, the vast majority of the folks that I know in Sylvania are doing the best they can for their community and their kids, and are not rich, by any stretch. They are simply committed to excellence in the town they live in and their children, and willing to make sacrifices to assure that these things are achieved.
The first half was an embarassment for the Rossford football team; by halftime the score was 27-0 and there had been many penalties, some personal because of the frustration level on the field, and numerous interceptions. The crowd around me was agitated at the coaching staff and not shy about voicing their opinions; it was understandable, but a little useless...yelling into the air was not going to change the way the coaches were going to run their game. At halftime, as "visitor", the NV Wildcat Band was the first to take the field. The photo (right) is of the drumline and sousaphones during the performance of the music "Maliguania" (you may recognize the name from Tommy Lee's short stint as quads player for the University of Nebraska)This was a preview for me of the senior show that will take place at home next week.
The culmination of the senior show, and in a more real sense the culmination of the senior band football season, the "Script Cats", executed to the same music as that used by the Ohio State Marching Band when they create Script Ohio. In all the years that I have seen this done, it moves me with such pride every time. The music communicates the dominance and determination of the band and the final result is the ultimate representation of them, the community and all that they stand for. Even in the situation in which they performed last night and knowing the attitudes that were expressed earlier in the evening, when the band finalized the formation by the sousaphones crossing the "T" and saluting, and the entire band saluting the crowd with hats removed and bowing, the admiration was palpable in the response of the spectators who had chosen to stay to watch halftime rather than take a snack run or bathroom break.Unfortunately for Rossford, after halftime, the football game proceeded in the same fashion as the first half. The final score was 41-0; a trouncing to be sure. There is some speculation that a continued winning streak by NV could put them in playoff contention...we shall see on that...all that can be said right now it that they were definitely the dominant force on the field last night.
I have rambled on far longer than usual for this space; hope you were not too bored...thank you for being here to share this with me...will be back later over the weekend (with a shorter post ;-))...till then, much love to you....
v
