A Year In Review: The 2006 Gold Star Marching Band - 11/21/06

The last game of the 2006 Bison football season was on Saturday which also meant that it was the end of the 2006 Gold Star Marching Band season. This was by far my favorite season of the five that I have marched. I worked with two other Drum Majors that can never be replaced. There is no way I can say thanks to those two for making this such a memorable year. Sometimes I think the three of us got along a little too well… The band was very good, maybe not the best or biggest, but still my favorite. We didn’t have the kind of people in this band that have ruined good times in the past. There were still those that thought they were bigger than the band, but there were only a few. And frankly, if they want to bitch about how marching band sucks and how great they are, go ahead. We’re not listening and you look like an ass.

This band was a part of two record crowds this year. First, on October 21st, the band traveled to the Metrodome to watch an amazing game against the Gophers in front of nearly 63,000 people, the most to ever watch a Bison football game. Leading the band downfield during pre-game will probably forever be my greatest marching band memory. (The ensuing near heart attack after sprinting 90 yards to the end zone is around number three or four on my list.) I can’t imagine having another experience like the first time we set foot on the turf of the Metrodome to perform in front of all of those people. I know that the Gopher band and other college bands play in front of that or more every day, but just a few years ago, it was also a big deal for us to perform in front of 8,000 in games against St. Cloud State and a few more against UND. How times change, huh? The second record was the game on November 18th against South Dakota State. That game had just over 19,000 which was the largest home crowd ever for the Bison. It was for as many marbles as the Bison could win this year, a Great West Conference title and the Dakota Marker. A 10-1 season and a wonderful band can make anyone happy. And working with the people I was able to work with was truly a highlight of my young life.

I got to thinking toward the end of the season how important this band has been to me. I finally was able to realize how I can never go back and relive those experiences. I was toying with the idea of playing sousaphone again next year since I had so much fun doing it two years ago. The only problem is, two years ago I got to play with an amazing section that doesn’t exist anymore, and never will exist again. I can never be in a section again with Matt and Sara and Terry and Greg. There is no way to relive our past. After realizing that, I took everything I could from the last few of weeks of the season. No matter how much I want to, I’ll never get to be up on the ladders again with Chris and Erin. Next year it may be Erin, me, and someone else, and it may be even more fun, but it will never be the same. I’m going to miss goofing around with those two on the sidelines during rehearsal. I’m thinking I’ll have one more year in marching band, and you can bet I’m going to take everything I can from that one final year. I will audition for Drum Major, but if I don’t get it, I don’t get it. I’m not going to abandon this band simply because I don’t get my way on one little thing. I don’t understand running away from an organization that you love (or claim to love) because things don’t work out the way you want them to. (Gee, who could I be referencing here?)

We made some major changes to the band this year. After two years of discussion, we finally divided the leadership of the Gold Star Band between the concert band and marching band. Now there are marching band officers and concert band officers. I was very happy to see some people get an opportunity to be officers now for the marching band that have worked so hard over the years that never had a chance in the past. There were four excellent selections made and there wasn’t a single weak link in the bunch. The only disappointment for me was that the band didn’t take advantage of someone that has more experience as an officer than anyone else that was nominated. With as big of a change as there will be for next year, I felt that experience, ambition, and expertise were going to be absolutely vital for a smooth transition into marching band officers. And the only consolation that I have in that one experienced person not being elected is that there wasn’t a bad officer elected; I just think the band missed an opportunity to reward the most qualified candidate with the presidency.

I don’t base my concerns on the abilities of the officers elected. As I said, they are all wonderful choices. They are all going to do their jobs very well and I feel horrible that I am even questioning the choices made since they are all so suited to their respective jobs. But I look back at my first year as an officer. I was a first year president, trying to lead the band and the other officers with no idea what I was supposed to do. And the only help I had came from the only veteran officer. And for some reason she wasn’t included in the decision making process the previous year since she was ‘only the treasurer.’ I can’t imagine what kind of a disaster my first year would have been without her help. Mistakes will be made next year even though the new officers are all qualified to do their jobs. But there is no one with experience in the officer corps and I know that it will be difficult for them to get certain jobs done. The one person that I believe could’ve made this transition go very smoothly was unexpectedly voted out of office. And it makes me sick to think that all of that ability is going to go unused next fall.

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