Hell yeah, they scored! OUCH!

3-2-09

I’m not the biggest fan of hockey.  A few years ago I would have told you I hated it, and yes I know, how can you live in Grand Forks and hate hockey?  Well, I did.  The Pride of the North Marching band is what changed that for me.  I play the sousaphone at the games, and I guess hockey just grew on me.  Now, I even find myself getting into the games and cheering loudly.  Saturday’s game was interesting for me.

If the Sioux are ahead or tied by the end of the second period, the band gets to march around the arena playing the fight songs.  On Saturday Tammy, our director, said we were going to try something different for the walk around.  Instead of having two lines marching together in the same direction, we’d take twice as many people and form two separate lines going in opposite directions so they’d cross somewhere in the middle.  This sounded like so much fun, and I really wanted to do it.

I have never been so into a game as the last few minutes of the second period.  Not because the game was all that exciting for me, but because I wanted to try the new walk around.  As the second period was coming to an end, Colorado was ahead.  Everyone was on the end of there seats, wanting UND to score, and what happens?  In the last ten seconds of the period, UND scores tying the game.  I was so happy!  I jumped up and played the school song as loud as I could.

The new walk around was fun to do, but a little crazy.  It seemed like none of the band members knew what was going on.  I don’t think I need to try that ever agin.  The old way is better.

I did not enjoy the third period as much because I had a tremendous headache.  When I got up to play the school song at the end of the period, I dropped my sousaphone on my head.  I was lifting it up over my head to put in on my shoulder, and it slipped from my hands and clunked down on my head.  It hurt so bad!  Anytime a song would play through the speakers, I’d have to plug my ears because the bass pounded in my head.  I thought I was going to have to go to the hospital that night, but after I got some tylenol everything was fine.  I didn’t realize how hard I hit my head until I washed some dried blood out of my hair in the shower the next morning.  There’s still a bump where it hit.

At the next game, the other band members made jokes about it.  My section leader said I should wrap my sousa in bubble wrap.  Mark, another tuba player, said I should put a sticker on my sousaphone that says, "Caution, heavier than you remember!" and Katie said I should wear a helmet.  It was pretty funny now that I think about it.  I’m just glad that I didn’t have to make a trip to the emergency room.