Are You Ready for Some Football?

Tubaboy plays at sunset
Photo by: Suna

Last night I went to my first high school football game in more years than I care to mention here. I’ll admit I went primarily out of a sense of obligation, but I really had fun. Not yelling-yourself-hoarse fun, but fun. I did yell.

I sat on the top row of the visitor section in Temple, right next to the sousaphone section of the band. Tubaboy was within reach. Becanno was hidden in the percussion section much farther down.

The team was expected to lose by a big margin, but they won 38-28, even though the QB threw five interceptions in the first half. There was some really good play on the field, and I found myself sucked into the vortex that is football fandom. I don’t expect to learn each players’s stats (or even their names), but there are a few really good players.

But the reason I went was the band.

They were very impressive for the first performance. They all seemed to know their parts; Tubaboy even had many of the pep pieces memorized. The marching program was on the esoteric side: “This is what really happens when you go to sleep.” I would not have known it was a nightmare sequence if it had not already been explained to me. It was visual enough, and the playing was good. But huh?

Next week is a home game. I look forward to seeing the performance from stage front instead of backstage (that is, the visitor’s section). Maybe it will make more sense then.