After what seemed like the longest holiday break in history, I made the journey from Ozark, Alabama to Tuscaloosa on January 2, 2010. Two days of meetings and rehearsals later, and the University of Alabama’s Million Dollar Band departed on a journey to the
BCS
National Championship game.
The band was divided into three planes to get to California. Our flight was very smooth, and as we began our descent into California, one of our drum majors led our plane in the singing of Alabama’s fight song, “Yea, Alabama.” Full of spirit, excitement, and some nervousness, I stepped off the plane in beautiful, sunny California. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the weather was much too warm for the festive hound’s tooth scarves and jackets most of us were wearing.
The first night in California, I ventured out into Hollywood with nine friends. Being from a small town in Alabama, my exposure to public transportation in large cities is very limited, and I couldn’t help but be nervous about the possibility of getting lost in such a huge city as we navigated the frustrating Metro system of subways and buses. Fortunately, we were able to make our way across the city to Rodeo Drive and then to Hollywood Boulevard. We saw the upscale boutiques on Rodeo Drive, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, the Walk of Fame, the Kodak Theatre, several celebrity impersonators, and all kinds of interesting stores.
The day before the National Championship, we boarded the band buses and drove to Pasadena for our first glimpse of the Rose Bowl. The nearly 400 members of the Million Dollar Band were positioned in front of the Rose Bowl for a panoramic picture. Standing in front of the historic stadium, I was overwhelmed. The backdrop of the beautiful mountains behind the stadium was breathtaking.
We were able to rehearse on a football field belonging to Glendale Community College. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but when we arrived to the field we found a gorgeous Astroturf surface with a view that I could not believe was real. We cleaned up our pregame show and worked diligently to iron out details of our “Big Band” halftime show featuring “Sing, Sang, Sung,” “Big Noise from Winnetka,” “Miss Otis Regrets,” and “When a Man Loves a Woman.” After our rehearsal, we traveled to Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood for a parade. Wearing our full uniforms, it was no easy task to march all the way through Universal’s City Walk and the park on such a warm day. Alabama fans were everywhere, cheering us on as we played “Yea, Alabama” for them.
Later, we were given time in the theme park to enjoy the rides. As we explored the attractions, groups of fans and band members would often start singing “Yea, Alabama” and encourage others to participate in impromptu cheering. Though the park closed at 6 PM, the entire band was given a private night tour of the famous Universal Studios Backlot after hours. The tour goes through the working part of Universal, where all kinds of movies and television shows have been made. Many old sets still exist, and we were able to see buildings from Psycho, War of the Worlds, Jaws, and several other famous movies. Part of our tour even took us past the set of the television show Ghost Whisperer as actors Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jamie Kennedy were waiting to film.
Though I had been having an amazing time in the Los Angeles area, I was ready to take the field at the Rose Bowl stadium. After a final rehearsal, lunch, and a few pep rallies, the waiting was over. When we finally walked down the long tunnel into the Rose Bowl, reality of what was about to unfold finally set in. The Rose Bowl is a fantastic stadium. It doesn’t seem very tall, but the seats seem to go on forever.
When it was time for our pregame performance, I stepped out onto the beautiful new field, counted my 24 steps, and I was hit with nervousness. After three years of performing in front of nearly a hundred thousand people each week during football season, it takes a lot to make me nervous. But somehow, I was more nervous marching then than I had been since I marched for the first time in high school. Fans all over the stadium were taking pictures, and the lights looked like fireworks. I led my line through a countermarch during “Yea, Alabama,” and I was very proud to be a member of the Million Dollar Band. Marching in the BCS National Championship in Pasadena is not something to take for granted. The atmosphere was electric, and our performance was even better because of it.
Following pregame, we returned to our seats and prepared for the opening kickoff. Though our team struggled on the first drive of the game, momentum slowly began to shift for the Tide with a few defensive plays. Alabama’s lead extended until it was time for us to move to the sidelines for halftime. While we waited for the clock to tick down, I stood roughly twenty feet from Marcel Dareus as he made an impressive interception and ran the ball into the end zone. Hugs, high-fives, and cheers were exchanged as the team left the field for halftime.
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