Go Mountaineers!

I had to write in response to my sister Shawna's comments about the bands. Shawna graduated from West Virginia University and is proud of her Mountaineers. She should be. Growing up in West Virgina as we did, everyone was proud of the state school. Not only did they do well athletically but their marching band was one of the finest in the country. When I first started marching in 7th grade, our high school band took a trip to West Virginia band day at WVU. We were able to see a live college football game and we were out on the field with the "Pride of West Virginia" for halftime. I was beyond thrilled. I thought they were the greatest thing I had ever seen in my life. WVU's marching band is known for it's excellence in music, sound and size as well as their ability to form intricate shapes very quickly. As shown in the photo, their one major claim to fame is forming the shape of the state of West Virginia, which as any 8th grader who takes WV history knows, has the most uneven borders of any state in the Union! This has been a historical part of their shows since anyone can remember. I just read while doing this entry that they are celebrating the largest marching band in the school's history this year - over 400 members strong! That's a lot of sound! I would love to see them in person. Another quick fact about WVU's marching band is that at the end of my junior year in high school I was chosen as the drum major for our high school marching band. I had worked hard towards this goal for many years and was absolutely thrilled to have won the position. Being the first young man to hold this coveted position in many years, there was no uniform for me to wear. Consequently, I chose to copy the uniform from WVU's drum majors. I had seen them perform while we were attending the Forest Festival parade in Elkins, WV the year before. So, seeing that there was no pattern, I enlisted the help of my grandmother and mom who were both great seamstresses. I drew out what I wanted for the jacket for my grandmother and she created the pattern out of newspaper. She was truly amazing. Everything turned out just as I had hoped. It was great. So, in a strange way, WVU's marching band became a part of my own history even though I did not attend school there. So, along with my post to the Cougars of BYU and the Hoosiers of IU...here's to the blue and gold of the Mountaineers of WVU! Have a great season everyone! Oh, and Shawna, this one's for you..."LET'S GO MOUNTAINEERS!"