-Atlanta-

                The morning of Saturday was free to the students.  Many decided to sleep in, some decided to explore different parts of the city, and others had very precise places that they wanted to explore.  The only demand from the band staff was to be back on time to get on the buses for the game, and to never go anywhere alone. 

                Unfortunately the weather was not in our favor.  It was raining the entire time we were in Atlanta.  A couple of my friends and I had found an indoor shopping center where food was served.  We tried staying as dry as possible.

                As the band assembled on the buses to head for the game, the members were ready for the game.  All we wanted to do was watch some college football, and to cheer on our Mountaineers.  After a bus trip from Atlanta to Auburn, our first stop was the WVU Alumni Event/Tent.

-Alumni Event :Auburn-

When arriving at the Alumni Tent, we went straight to sectionals.  The first thing I noticed was the heat when I got off the bus.  It was a different kind of heat than I was used to.  Before the band entered the Alumni area where we were going to play, I went with our assistant director to scope out the amount of space that we would have.  We gauged how close people would need to be, and we had a tight fit but we could manage.  At that point the other drum major joined me and we were approached by many other people about how excited they were that we were there.   The excitement of the crowd was definitely very high even when they only had seen the band and not heard us.  This showed me how important the WVU Band is to this University and State.  When the band marched in, I took the podium to lead the band in the WVU fight songs and other game day songs.  When I switched with my drum major partner and I got off the podium, everyone in the crowd wanted pictures with me and to talk to me.  The excitement of the crowd was phenomenal.

                After the performance, we went back to the buses where a meal from Chik-Fil-A was waiting on us.  While we were eating on the bus, we noticed the weather.  The weather was beginning to not look too good.  It started to sprinkle a bit, and I know I was glad that the performance was over for now and that hopefully the weather will clear up before the game.

-The Game: Auburn-

                We knew we arrived at the campus when we recognized all the tailgating that was along the road.  It was a different atmosphere.  At WVU, all the tailgating typically takes place in a parking lot, but because of the compact location of the Auburn campus the tailgating took place in between buildings on the lawn.  

                We arrived to our parking destination and assembled in the street in the order we were marching into the stadium.  At this point the weather was still friendly and not against us.  None of us knew the monsoon that was about to take place. Nonetheless, ponchos were given to every member just in case we were going to have a little rain. After the band was lined up and ready to go we began marching into the stadium. 

                While marching in, the crowd was very welcoming.  In previous years when we have traveled to an away game, the fans are not kind to us.  However, Auburn gave us a different perspective.  We arrived in the stadium after a short march and we start to filter into our seats.  Mr. Drury and Mr. Nichter start to realize that there may not be enough seats to accommodate us.  Tensions and blood pressures rise, but after a very long and very tight squeeze we were able to get the band seated.  The stadium was very large and much different than ours, and the crowd was already starting to filter in.

                Once we were in our seats, we noticed that the Auburn Marching Band began marching around the stadium playing their fight song.  This was something that I had never seen before.  Typically, bands normally make their first appearance during the start of their pregame show.  The band was highly excited to see this band because the Auburn band is one of the most prestigious collegiate bands in the nation.  When their band made their way around the field the finally came to the location where our band was located.  Our band stood and cheered for this band.  We were very excited to be there.  Their band finished their route and went back into the tunnels to prepare for their pregame show.

About 10 minutes after the band is seated, it starts to rain.  A little rain never hurt anyone I thought.  About that time it felt like buckets were falling from the sky.  The rain was very, very heavy and there was not enough room to get the band out of it.  Luckily, every member of the band had a poncho and was able to put their instruments under them and to stay a little dry despite the conditions. 

As the rain continued, it felt like it would never stop.  The water from the stadium seats was coming down and creating a small river of water towards the drain.  Unfortunately the drain started to clog up and water began to congregate where the drum majors and staff were located.  This water was beginning to get very deep.  It was deep enough that we had to go up in the stands to avoid the ankle deep and knee deep water in some of the locations.

Unfortunately, because of this downpour of rain, the director of the Auburn band gave us some not-so-great news.  The operations of the stadium cancelled the performances on the field for the bands.  Because of this, the Auburn band would not be able to perform pre-game, and both bands would not be able to perform at half time.  We were bummed.  Bummed that we were unable to watch the other band, and bummed that we could not perform for them.

The game finally began and started our normal routine of playing in the stands.  We played when we were on defense, and played when our team needed the support of our fight song.  During the game, an Auburn fan from the crowd came up to me.  She said, “I used to be the drum major of the Auburn Marching Band, and I just want to say how impressed I was of your band when the Auburn Band marched around.  I have never seen a visiting band stand, clap, cheer, and show that much respect for the home band.  That was very high class, and I hope this stadium and its fans show you the same respect that you show the opposing teams and bands.” 

During halftime, each band played the songs that we were planning on marching with.  Our band played first.  I have never heard the WVU Band play so well.  I’m sure that the feeling of wanting to play great for the Auburn band and fans, on top of the hours of practice that we put into these songs had a definite impact on our performance.  After our performance in the stands, we directed our attention to the Auburn band to listen to their show tunes.

Sometime during the second half, the student photographer of the Auburn Band came to our band.  We talked for a little bit about our trip and then he commented on how great the band sounds, and how determined our band was.  He mentioned that while they were in the tunnels during the storm of rain, the talk of the band was that we were out there in the rain and not complaining, and that we were so supportive of our team and our school that we roughed it through the storm and still played great.  He was very impressed.

With the comments by the Auburn band alumni and the band photographer, along with the marching band performance, I was very proud of our band.  I was very proud of how we played, and how we portrayed the state during this away game, and this away trip in general.

After the game, we were disappointed with the outcome of the game, but we never stopped supporting our team.  Our team did a great job, and I definitely was looking forward to the next game.  When we arrived back at the buses, the directors pushed back our time of departure for home.  They allowed us to have two more hours of sleep, because of the late start of the game caused from the rain.

On the route leaving the hotel, we were in our convoy of 9 buses, when we were stopped.  We finally got the word that an Auburn fan had driven into bus 6.  Luckily, no one hurt and we were able to continue to Atlanta.  This incident, on top of the rain, made this game one that I will definitely remember.

After arriving back to the hotel at Atlanta, it was very early in the morning.  I finally crashed into bed at about 4:00AM.  Thankfully, there were no performances the following day and we had the entire time to sleep on the buses.  The next day we departed from Atlanta at 10AM, and were home later that night.

This trip will definitely be one that I will always remember, and thanks to the WVU Foundation and ‘The Pride Travel Fund’, we were able to have a great experience in Georgia and Alabama.