Travelling Trumpets

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, the band does not get the third quarter off.  However, during third quarter each game, a number of trumpet players travel around Beaver Stadium and play fight songs.  This is a little ditty we like to call "Travelling Trumpets".  Unfortunately we don't travel to the student section, but if you attended a PSU game with your family before you were a student here, perhaps we paid a visit to you.

Travelling Trumpets is somewhat coveted.  It isn't director-run, meaning a member of the trumpet section is the one who coordinates everything (this year it was Rusty Bizaro, who happened to be my squad leader).  Every week before the game, travelling trumpets signups went live on the Blue Band Trumpets Facebook group, and everyone would scramble to sign up.  Everyone wants to play a PSU fight song for their parents.  Homecoming is a particularly popular game, because the alumni come back and all of the returnees want to travel to see their friends and former bandmates.  This was the game that I chose to travel because my entire family was coming.

Travelling Trumpets is a wonderful thing, don't get me wrong.  However, there were a couple of factors that led me to have a less than wonderful experience with Travelling Trumpets.

First of all, I have a fear of stairs.  I hate them.  I don't like walking down them, much less running down them.  I'm somewhat prone to falling, and I didn't really want to do it in front of thousands of people.  Not only that, but Travelling Trumpets, especially on homecoming, requires running.  Although it may seem a little strange considering I spend five of my seven days high stepping for several hours, running is not my forte.  I'm not good at it and I don't like to do it.  All of the trumpets have to be back in the Blue Band section by the fourth quarter, so, especially on homecoming when people are located around the stadium, running is necessary.  I didn't know about the running schtick before I signed up.  Those things in mind coupled with the fact I had a broken foot didn't exactly make for a wonderful third quarter.

Me and my broken foot

For those of you who had class with me last semester, you probably remember my boot.  My right foot got a stress fracture from marching.  You read that right, marching.  The impact from high stepping was too much for my second metatarsal to handle, so it fractured.  But, according to the podiatrist, as long as I wore my boot at all other times, I was good to march!  So that's exactly what I did.

The actual process of Travelling Trumpets was totally unforgettable.  At Penn State, members of the Blue Band are kind of celebrities.  Everybody went crazy when we started to play the fight songs, and families even stopped us and asked if we could get pictures with their kids.  Some of the students getting chicken tender baskets even wanted pictures with us, and a few middle aged dads screamed that they loved the Blue Band as we ran by them.

About two-thirds of the way through the third quarter, however, my foot started throbbing and it hurt to walk, so my Travelling Trumpets experience was cut short and I was rushed to the medical suite under the stadium where they gave me 600 milligrams of advil (I was feeling pretty good after that).

Even though it ended in pain, the actual travelling was so exhilarating and fulfilling.  Seeing Penn State fans have so much pride in their school and band is exactly why I auditioned.  My high school didn't have a great arts program, and being at Penn State with so many people who love and appreciate the Blue Band has been such a refreshing change of scenery for me.  Knowing that I brought a little more excitement to the rainy day in October was more than satisfying.  Plus, I got some pretty sweet photos out of it.

Playing "Fight on State" during Travelling Trumpets

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