The Auburn University Marching Band seems to materialize from the ether, sporting a recognizable uniform, delivering a special gameday experience only to disappear until the following game.
But this is far from the truth.
Jay Belmont, second-year band member and sophomore in music education, and Allison Patrick, fourth-year band member and senior in music and psychology, are ready to set the record straight.
“There’s a lot of things that y’all don’t see, but it’s hard for me to put into words the amount of, just, time and energy put into making the performance,” Belmont said.
Gameday preparation begins with what is, according to Belmont, the hardest part: an early morning wake-up call.
“We practice for a good amount before the game, so it’s bad for early games,” Belmont said. “Like an 11 o’clock kick-off means that we’ll be at the field usually around 4 o’clock and starting to practice.”
Patrick said she prefers later games just because of how early they have to wake up for the morning games.
At away games, the band will hold a rehearsal clinic as their practice so that people can come and learn about what they do and how they play.
After practice, the band’s next important time is when they congregate in the tunnel before the game. They spend about 20 minutes preparing and riling each other up.
This is another of Patrick’s favorite moments on gamedays because it is a private moment of bonding that is shared with her fellow band members.
“It’s one of those moments that’s really exciting because you’re getting ready to go out and perform this thing you’ve been working so hard on that’s one of the most difficult things that we do in marching band,” Patrick said. “At the same time, it’s like humbling because there are a lot of people who don’t get that opportunity within the band. It’s hard to describe in words. It’s very intense and as soon as the team comes back under the tunnel is when we get ready to go, and you can feel it.”
This is followed by the pregame performance, where the band runs onto the field ready to galvanize Jordan-Hare.
“Pregame is great,” Belmont said. “There’s nothing better than like doing the jog and coming out of the tunnel because you’re fitting so many people through that tiny spot. You get a rush whenever you do it. Just like everyone is cheering.”
Patrick said she loves this moment because it symbolizes how the band contributes to the gameday experience.
“Jogging out of the tunnel is one of the most exciting and scary things that I think I’ve ever done,” Patrick said. “But probably my absolute favorite part of gameday is getting to do that and getting to hear all of those people cheering for what you’re doing on the field.”
Then, the band retreats to the stands and their real work begins. They try to perform a piece at least every other play, leading the fans in chants ranging from the classic “Track ‘em, Tigers” to the collective karaoke of “Sweet Caroline.”
“It’s almost more exciting [than being a spectator] because you’re getting to cheer for the team in a way that a lot of other people don’t get to do,” Patrick said.
Because the band does not play while the game is in action, they get to enjoy most of the game alongside all the other fans.
“I’ve never been big into football,” Belmont said. “Even growing up, it wasn’t like my thing, but now that I’ve actually gotten here and have to go to all of the games, I’ve kinda gotten into it.”
While their gameday show is professional and polished, things can and do go awry.
“Sometimes for the fans at other stadiums, we’re like an easy target because we’re not supposed to talk to them or anything,” Belmont said. “Like when we went to Clemson last year, this guy threw his drink on me, and last year, at the away game for Georgia, some of the fans were harassing us. Even though we went like the underground route to the stadium, they still found a way to harass us.”
Patrick was a member of the 2013 marching band before taking two years off. Looking back, her funniest memory of that year was from the 2013 National Championship. At least, she considers it funny now that it’s in the past.
“So 2013 was when we got to go to the national championship in L.A., so we left super early in the morning, had to get all of the instruments, luggage — everything,” Patrick said. “We were on a massive charter plane with all 380 of us, and we got there, and we were missing, I think it was like two trombones, which when you’re all of the way across the country, what do you do? And I want to say that they just got lost somewhere getting off the plane, and they just didn’t make it onto the bus, so we got them eventually. But that was something that, in the moment, was really stressful, but looking back is like you know that would happen.”
However, things go the way they are supposed to more times than not. Patrick has had a variety of experiences, including rival teams’ fans stopping to help them carry water and equipment.
“As long as you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, and we’re on a pretty tight schedule and we’ve got our security team,” Patrick said. “It’s never a scary thing to go to.”
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