The first tradition I bring to you is the loved (by us) and hated (by you) "Wake Up East". There are a few trumpet-only traditions, and this is one of them. Before the early games (typically noon kick-offs only, but we did a later Wake Up East for the first game of the 2016 season, Kent State, since it was a 3:30 kick-off), all (or some) of the trumpet section gathers in the Hastings parking lot, typically around 5:30 am. We then play various fight songs in front of East Halls as loudly as we can, followed by screaming "IT'S GAME DAY!" and the occasional "THERE ARE ONLY SEVEN HOURS UNTIL KICK-OFF AND YOU'RE STILL SLEEPING?" It's among our favorite tradition, and is usually met with one of two things: enthusiastic cheering or lots of profanity.
Because we are in the 21st century, we can always count on our loving fans to turn to Twitter to express how grateful they were for our dedicated service.
Photos credit to Andrew Hill
The second game day tradition we have is game day stretches. Grant it, we do these stretches every practice, but game day just wouldn't be the same without them. We do various stretches and exercises that one might find in an elementary gym class, such as:
Jumping Jacks
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| Photo credit to Annemarie Mountz |
Arm Circles
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| Photo credit to Annemarie Mountz |
And Supermans
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| Photo credit to Annemarie Mountz |
But, everyone's favorite part of the game day stretches is the massage line, or more commonly known by its verbal command, "close 'em in and rub 'em down".
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| Photo credit to Annemarie Mountz |
That, and the fact that the stretches are lead by the drum major, Jimmy Frisbie.
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| Blue Band director Gregory Drane and drum major Jimmy Frisbie Photo credit to Annemarie Mountz |
The next game day tradition is the game day sub (or "hoagie", if you want to be wrong). At the beginning of the season, each member of the PSUMBB chooses the kind of sub they want: turkey, ham, Italian, roast beef, or cheese. Each game day, we get these subs after rehearsal. It's essentially our saving grace and what gets us through those long 7 am rehearsals.
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| Photo credit to Annemarie Mountz |
The most iconic part about the game day sub is that most of the time the kick-off is 3:30 or earlier, which means that we typically eat our game day subs between 9:30 am and 10:30 am. Nothing like eating lunch when most people are just waking up.
The final game day tradition for this post I will be covering is the game day nap. Waking up at ~5:30 am and practicing for an hour and a half is pretty exhasuting. The main reason we practice so early before games is due to the fact that tailgaters like to use our practice field. Because of our early practices, we have a lot of down time between the end of practice and the beginning of the game. Thus, the game day nap.
Percussionists like to sleep on the shelves where their equipment usually stays
Photo credits to Annemarie Mountz
That's all the game day traditions I have for this week. Check out my blog next Friday to learn about more game day traditions!
To view more of Annemarie Mountz's Blue Band photography, click here
Blue Band Social Media:
So you're the one that woke me up every game day!?! Honestly, I love the tradition and can't even be mad. These game day rituals seem like a blast to be a part of. I too would definitely need a nap after all the excitement. And for the record, it's hoagie not sub.
ReplyDeleteWow, so that's where the noise comes from! These traditions actually seem pretty cool though, especially the hoagie one!
ReplyDeleteNot gonna lie, really not a fan of that wake up east tradition. I live in Tener which is like right across from the blue band practice field. Its funny that you acklowledge it and have made it a sort of tradition.
ReplyDeleteBeing far removed from East Halls, the 7 a.m. game-day trumpeting doesn't impact me, but I did laugh aloud at the sub/hoagie distinction.
ReplyDeleteCome on, now. I'm a Pittsburgh girl. It's "hoagie" all the way.
The band has some great traditions. Subs/hoagies at breakfast time for the rest of the world, game day stretches, and naptime before the game. Your band knows how to work hard and have a good time, too!
ReplyDeleteFor the record, where I grew up-hoagies, where I live now-subs.