OR....Senior Show 2006
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As the band slogged soggily across the parking lot of the high school in the driving rain, it was painfully obvious that the "Senior Show" for this year was going to be a bust. The pitiful looking band members, clad in their band hats, rain coats and blue jeans, already looked like drowned rats, the result of their short march from the band room at the end of A Hall to the stadium located just behind the school. From my cozy vantage point inside the car, I was able to snap a few photos to give you a feel for the damp and cold that the kids (and few staunch Northview supporters) were to endure this night in their dedication to represent their city and their school.
My trek to attend the game began with abandoning my warm, dry refuge and plodding across the mini-swamp that had earlier that day been the football practice field, umbrella held above my head being tugged at by the persistent wind, and camera, iPod and cell phone ensconced in pockets of my leather jacket. Arriving at the ticket booth to purchase my ticket to the game, pleasantries were exchanged with the friends working in the booth, including their undying gratitude for the fact that they were making their contribution to the evening's festivities from the relative dryness of a cramped wooden trailer, a sentiment you would not normally expect. After passing off my ticket to another friend at the entrance gate, I made my way toward the home stands to take my place there to watch pregame and wait until halftime for the senior recognition activity. As I rounded the corner at the edge of the grandstand, I was greeted with the sight in the photo, left....parents and supporters had staked their claims to seats and hunkered down, steeling themselves for several hours of rain and wind chilled football. I noted also, that the athletic boosters finally had the perfect opportunity to rake in some big bucks; if there was ever a night for folks to be downing hot chocolate and coffee, this would have definitely been the one.
Pregame for this night was accomplished with much less flair and fanfare than normally expected from the Wildcat Marching Band; for the sake of safety for all involved, the band walked out onto the field into first formation rather than their usual "Ohio State" - style high step run (photo, left). Because of concern for the fragile nature of the woodwind instruments, none of those folks marched with instruments last night, so all the woodwind players were able to do were hold their places in formations and stand in the rain with the rest of the band. Once on the field, they played a slightly truncated version of the pregame music, basically covering the "Star Spangled Banner", and the fight song, which they played when the football team ran slipping and sliding through the tunnel that the band provided. Before creating the tunnel, however, the band seniors all assembled in front of the main grandstand and band and played together the alma mater...a traditional "Senior Show" feature (Photo, right). The tiny crowd responded as enthusiastically as possible, but to be honest, there were hardly enough people there to be heard over the constant pounding of the rain on their umbrellas, and the wind in everyone's ears.
As the football game laboriously progressed, the band parents began their migration to the south end of the football field to be instructed on what needed to be done for the senior recognition part of the halftime show. The band director staged the parents much in the same fashion that he does every day with their children, providing instruction through his bullhorn and in some cases physically directing folks to where they needed to go. As the parents waited for the visiting band to complete their haftime program, they milled about, uncomfortable in the wind and cold (photo, left). The parents were told that due to the inclement weather conditions, as soon as the halftime was over, the students were going to return to A Hall and the band room, check in their instruments and other equipment, and then be dismissed for the night. The parents were relieved, I believe, as many of the students I observed, my own included, were soaked to the skin and shivering from the cold wind blowing on their heads, hands and legs.
When the time finally came and the Wildcat Marching Band took the field, it was clear that they were all struggling, hopeful that they would make it through the show and off the field without incident. The photo, right, is of the band on the field, playing one of the young one's favorite songs for the last time. The percussionists and particularly the quads players are prominent in this piece, and the young one was looking forward to making this last time performing it be a memorable experience for all of them. In his moments of total attention to the performance, I could tell he was truly happy and enjoying himself, even though this was not the vision he had formed in his mind of how this night was going to unfold.
Once the band's performance was complete, the parents were to quickly take the field to meet their senior for the quickest introductions in history, nothing more than student's name and who they were accompanied by. The band director and assistant walked down the lines as the students were introduced by name, and shook the hands of both the student and the parents. The mothers were each given a single yellow rose (mine now hanging by a ribbon, head down, beginning its process to eventually become part of my dried flower arrangement in my room) and each senior given a pom-pom mum crafted into a corsage of sorts which was pinned on their rain coat.
Much to the chagrine of the young one (not like anyone noticed or CARED for that matter) I took this last picture,left, as a reminder of what it was like to take the field as a Wildcat Band member. I am sure that the young one will not need this reminder for many years, but I hope that someday in the future, as he is thinking back on the days so long ago in high school marching band, he can look back at this picture and it will bring back the sensation, the excitement, the depth of emotion that he felt all those perfect Friday nights in the fall of the year, when he took the field with all his peers, a percussionist with "The Sylvania Northview Wildcat Marching Band".That's it, in an entry that stretched much longer than I had anticipated...I hope you enjoyed sharing this with me....back with more tomorrow probably...till then, much love to you....
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