Varsity football players should attend Thunder Over Aurora to thank the band that supports them
To start a game, 160 members of the Aurora High School Marching Band stride out onto the field, playing the pregame song, Uprising, along with the Star Spangled Banner and the school’s alma mater. These arrangements all come together in anticipation of the high school football team.
Band playing and crowd cheering, the team storms across the turf to make a huddle in the center of the field. The alma mater ends and the band hurries off the field and into the bleachers to play The Imperial March. This song’s last note is held, becoming louder and softer according to the drum major’s hand, until the kicker launches the ball across the field.
Finally, one trumpet blares the charge tune to which the rest of the band, of course, yells, “CHARGE!”
They repeat that charge every kick off, play a different song at the end of every quarter, and perform a 10 minute halftime show of 3-4 songs they’ve learned and gone over profusely almost everyday since late July. As well as playing the fight song whenever there’s a touchdown.
Even after all of that, the band goes over to the student section during the 4th quarter to raise the spirit of the crowd. No matter if the team is winning or losing, everyone is dancing around as the band raises school spirit with songs everyone knows.
The Aurora High School Marching Band goes to all 10 Friday night varsity football games, they practice for hours to perfect a show to be performed at halftime, and provide entertainment for the crowd during any breaks in the game play. Actions of which the varsity football players never see.
As the band supports the varsity football team, the football players should come to Thunder Over Aurora, the one band show performed at the high school each year.
Paying for the team’s tickets, making it mandatory, or just encouraging the players to go are several ways this support could be achieved. Even by the players coming for the last 15 minutes of the show to the see their own band would show they appreciate their hard work.
On a Friday night, the band has a call time of anything from 5:00 to 5:30 and they have to stay at the school until the game is over (9:00-10:00), if it’s an away game, then it will be even longer. If every game play is 4 hours then the band spends a total of 40 hours going to games and supporting the varsity football team. In turn, the team would only need to watch their own band at the show for 20 minutes.
Thunder Over Aurora is September 22 this year which means there is one week to buy tickets or encourage an attendance. If they were to come, the band would feel a great sense of gratitude from a team they cheer on every week, rain or shine, near or far, win or lose.
Shouldn’t the football team show a fraction of the support the band shows them the whole season?
