By Jenna French
What’s the perfect way to end a Christmas vacation? A trip to Florida, of course.
Thousands of Louisville fans made their way to Jacksonville, Fla., last week for the Gator Bowl, where the Louisville Cardinals took on the Virginia Tech Hokies. And while all eyes were on our men in white, another uniformed group was probably overlooked – the University of Louisville Marching Band.
Our trip to the Gator Bowl was just as hectic as the trip the football players and cheerleaders took, and even though we lost the game, it was still worth it to play at the Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville.
The band’s trip started Dec. 29 – five days before the actual football game – when five buses departed from U of L. Reaching Florida the next day after so many hours on the bus was, in more ways than one, a breath of fresh air. Many people were trying to catch a glimpse of something – anything, really – that would let them know we were finally in Florida. From the highway, we saw Alltel Stadium, and we knew we’d finally reached Jacksonville. It was almost dusk, but we headed right to the practice field at the Jacksonville Beach and Resort Parks. Some of us hadn’t played in about two months, so this three-hour practice was essential for a good show at the bowl game.
We had to perform at a pep rally at Jacksonville Landing on New Year’s Eve, where we stood amidst a massive crowd of Louisville fans. The pep rally was incredible and was followed by a 12-block parade in downtown Jacksonville.
After the parade was over, Dr. Greg Byrne, the director of the band, held a 20-minute playing rehearsal in the parking lot, and we were free to go back to the hotel for New Year’s festivities.
We started the New Year at 6:30 a.m., when we boarded the buses to march at a parade in Disney World. It only lasted a few minutes, but at least it was a historical few minutes.
That night we were all in bed early, in preparation for the Gator Bowl the next day.
And finally, the big day was here. Upon arrival at Alltel Stadium, the band marched to the Louisville fan center and performed some tailgating tunes, after which we enjoyed lunch and finished getting ready to march onto the field.
We performed a pre-game show, and the reception we got coming onto the field was my favorite part of the trip – it felt like every single Louisville fan was on their feet screaming for us.
We performed our half time show, and during the game we played the pep songs U of L fans know all too well. It was a hard-fought game, and the band did their best to keep the stadium on their feet.
“The best moments of the trip were at those events where our fans were involved,” Byrne said. “One memorable moment I will always cherish is seeing the gleam in the faces of our President Ramsey and his wife as they proudly waved to the fans.”
It was a hard trip, and all of us were tired, but we had still put every bit of our energy into every single performance we had in Jacksonville.
“The long bus ride was a bad point, and our arms hurt so badly from not playing in a while, but it was definitely worth it,” said Kait Hutchings, a sophomore in the drum line.
