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John Gauthier English 101-132 Mr. Neuburger 11 September 2011 Narrative Anticipation Brass blaring, woodwinds trilling the sound fills the halls as I stand there in my white, black, and orange jacket. I can feel the weight of the plume pushing down the front of my shako. The band on before us sounds really good, and as time passes I can feel my gut being twisted until I feel that I need to sit down, but I cant for there are no chairs and we are in our formation lines. I can feel the intensity of the band on before us as the end of their show nears and the feeling in my gut only gets worse. The band before us blasts their last note at the audience and the stadium erupts into applause. The band walks by us like silent floating ghosts, their red and gold jackets bright and clean. Following them is their drum line with a single snare drum tapping to keep their feet in time. We watch them till they disappear around the corner, and then our time comes to take the field. The Guard runs out to prepare, setting their equipment along the side of the field. The pit rushes along the front of the stadium as their instruments jingle and clatter behind them. Jon, Adriana, Jacky and I run over to a cart and pick up a tarp, passing words of encouragement to each other and passing jokes around as we place it on the 20 yard line in the back of the field.

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I rush to my spot on the 15 yard line in the front left of the field but first taking notice to the Colts symbol in the center of the field and then the word INDIANAPOLIS to the left of me in the end field. The back ground music for the shows intro starts and then suddenly the announcers voice fills the stadium. The RCC Marching Tigers is the marching band of Riverside Community College. The band has appeared in countless parades such as the Tournament of Roses Parade, Fiesta Bowl Parade, the Hollywood Christmas Parade, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, various athletic events, Bands of America Grand Nationals in exhibition, as well as countless appearances in television shows, commercials, music videos, and movies. The Announcer takes a deep breath. They are the only marching band that has performed at every Disney Park around the world. They are also well known internationally and have toured around the world. I bend my neck backwards and immediately I am over whelmed, the ceiling to the dome seems to be so far up. It is enough to make me dizzy by just simply looking at it. My stomach begins to turn more. Not only is the stadium filled to the max and all eyes are on us, we are the very first college band to perform in the new Lucas Oil Stadium. Suddenly, I realize that I blanked out for the rest of the usual intro to our show. Then I hear now under the direction of Drum Major Kurt Kilgus, here are the Marching Tigers! I go to stand by, standing still and looking straight forward, my eyes are on the drum major ready for him to give the signal at any moment. The pit music starts and the recording from one of the Beatles concerts starts up. The drum major puts his hands up; we all move to an attention, he turns to the band with a large grin on his face.

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The Drum Major then thrusts his hands down and I count in my head, one two one two three four, snap my horn up to my mouth and with all my might I send a rush of air through the horn trying to create the biggest sound I can. After what seems like an eternity of holding that high A, I snap my horn down and begin to march around the field. My eyes are moving everywhere, analyzing my every move making sure I am nailing every formation. I catch glimpses of the floating plums all around me, smoothly gliding across the field. Before I know it we are in out last formation, which spells BEATLES on the field and I am bowing, like the Beatles did after all their performances. The crowd breaks out in a massive roar, the waves of sound make me feel so small and I can feel myself almost falling backwards. The Drum Major gives us the signal to exit the field, all of us winded and pumped. Once we get back to the staging area and march in our usual circle until we surround the drum major and our band director Gary Locke. So they are going to have to repair the hole you guys just left in the stands. We break into an uproar of screams and cheers. I can feel the energy coming from everyone; we are so thrilled with how the performance went. I look around and I know that each and every one of us cannot wait untill the next day for our final performance. I return with the rest of the band to the dressing room to get back into my normal cloths. Afterward I meet up with my friend Jacky and we excitedly discuss the earlier events. We both walk away from the stadium back to the hotel, not only knowing we have one more performance to go, but that we will never forget what we just experienced and that it will be something to talk about for many years to come.