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During my tenure at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) in the late 1980's, I had the fortune of being a member of the Marching Illini. Attending a university with over 35,000 students seemed quite daunting. But being a member of this marching band, where there were 350 members, it made the university seem that much smaller as you always saw a fellow member walking the Quad or in some of your classes with their Marching Illini jacket, t-shirt or uniform on. We were a group that performed for many events besides football games, so we were also together quite often, including our daily marching rehearsals and Tuesday night music rehearsal.
There was also the yearly road trip to another fellow Big Ten university. I had the fortune of going to the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, and University of Iowa. The best road trip had to be to Ohio State University where we won the football game at their famous Horseshoe Stadium. The unfortunate result is that when we were leaving the stadium in our 6 buses, fans of Ohio State University started rocking our buses back and forth with the hope of flipping the buses over. Thankfully, we were able to get out of there just in time.
The experience of being a part of the Marching Illini is something that I have treasured. We also have a "Fossil Band", which is the marching band made up of alumni who come back annually for Homecoming. It was something that I did every year since graduation until 2008, which was close to 20 years. Due to various health problems, including sciatica, and high arches in my feet, I had to take a break. Also, family matters became more important. I would love to go back once again to be a part of this great band.
This photo I had captured from the sidelines when the Marching Illini was performing at halftime. I was with other alumni band members ("fossils") waiting for our turn to enter the field, perform and march. It was a great day!
I have treasured this opportunity to be part of this great band and the traditions it has carried on for decades.
Weekly Prompt: Treasured
From the archives . . . Photo captured October 11, 2008.
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@Hootin' Anni: Baritone and trombone.
@Doug: The one thing I forgot to mention are the goose bumps I would get when playing the music in front of such a huge crowd. Happened every time when playing our entrance song during our pre-game performance to liven up the crowd of 60,000 fans.