Marching band performs at Buckeye Invitational

The marching band was invited to perform at Ohio State University’s band show on Saturday, Oct. 14. OSU invites many bands to perform in their stadium one day a year, and it is both nerve wracking and exciting.

The bands made sure to arrive hours before their performance to make sure they were ready. The Cuyahoga Falls High School marching band showed up and ate for a little bit before getting ready to practice. OSU provides a field for all of the bands to practice at before they perform. The directors took the band to the field and started them off with some warm ups. Warm ups are exercises that the members play so that they can be ready to play their songs. It helps better their playing and helps them to develop a good sound as a group. After warm ups, the band started to practice marching. They recently added a new visual to the upfield song and wanted to make sure everyone remembered it.

The band was taken to to a tunnel to get ready to perform. The band was put in a formation that made it convenient to get to their starting spots easily and in a way that looks very sharp.

The CFHS marching band performed “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf, “The Pretender” by Foo Fighters, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” by AC/DC, “Uprising” by Muse and “Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol.

After the performance, the group was out of breath and ready to relax. They were all given water and then were taken upstairs to talk to a member of the OSU marching band. After that, they were taken into a room to watch their performance. A representative of the OSU marching band talked to them about their show and, overall, had very positive things to say about it and the band in general. He also mentioned how good the majorettes were and how they were some of the best he had ever seen.

The band was taken back to the buses to take off their hats and gloves and leave their instruments. They returned towere taken into the stadium to watch the rest of the bands and wait for OSU’s performance. The bands that were performing at this time, were competing. CFHS did not compete but had fun watching the bands that did.

After a couple of hours, it was OSU’s turn. They came out of the tunnel and started their performance. The show was based around a boxing tournament. Brutus, the OSU mascot, was sparring went against Michigan. A ring was set up in the middle of the field where the two competed, and the marching band formed two people that looked as though they were boxing. Michigan won the first round, but Brutus was not going to give up. The screen showed Brutus training for the championship round against Michigan. Brutus was ready to win.

Brutus and Michigan were back at it again with the final round. It wasn’t too long after the fight started that Brutus had won. The referee held Brutus’ hand up in victory and the band had formed two people once again,. oOne holding the other’s hand up like the referee was holding Brutus’. The audience cheered, and then it was time for them to perform script Ohio.

When script Ohio was nearing its end and the tuba player, Drew Moore, dotted the “i,”, the band officers were getting ready for awards and to shake hands with OSU’s director and drum major. They were given a participation plaque and score sheets.

After the show was over, the marching band went back to their buses and got ready for the long and tiring journey back home. Many people slept and others talked quietly or listened to music. The members were given snacks to eat as they headed home.

The band got home around 12:30 a.m. They hurried to put their uniforms away and went home. Overall, it was a great trip filled with many memories.