Reno, Nevada

Following a day full of classes on Thursday, August 29th, a group of 30 students from the “All-American” Marching Band left for Reno to cheer on the Fighting Boilermakers in the season opener. I was a part of the group that went to the game, and while both the weather and the altitude were very different from home, we all had a blast exploring new territory and watching some football along the way.

By 4:30 PM, we were on the road headed to O’hare International airport to fly to Reno. Everyone was buzzing with excitement all throughout the drive, and we had extra time at the airport to relax and get dinner before sitting down for the four hour flight. We arrived at our hotel around 1:00 AM, but it felt like 4:00 AM to us because of the time change. I don’t think anyone had trouble falling asleep that night. I know my head hit the pillow, and I was out almost immediately.

After a good night’s sleep, we were up again at 8:00 AM the next morning for an excursion to South Lake Tahoe. The weather was beautiful, and the views were breathtaking. It was great to be able to explore the mountains and adventure with the other trumpet players. We happened to have six on this trip, which was the perfect amount for a gondola ride up the mountain. The lake itself was so clear and blue, and being able to see it from so high up was something really special. We also had a fun photo session and tried to take advantage of the backdrop we had before heading back down to the buses.

Once we were all back together again, it was time to go do what we had come all this way for. We drove over to the game and everyone was trying to guess what the score was going to end up being and how the Boilermakers were going to play. We were all feeling excited to cheer them on. While in the stands, we had a great time playing some of the newest stands tunes for this season. One of my favorite parts about playing new music for the first time is hearing the crowd react to it, and this was no exception. The Nevada fans were all very welcoming to us, which was super cool to experience as an opposing school. Despite a hard fight, the score did not end in our favor. It would have been great to come out with a victory, but the band always wins, and we had a good time performing for our team and for the fans.

The next morning, we were able to meet up with brothers from the Alpha Alpha chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi. It was so much fun talking with them and learning about their chapter and band, as well as the traditions they have on gamedays. Being able to meet brothers from around the country is such a rare and exciting thing, and everyone had a great time getting to know each other that morning. After singing the hymn outside of a Denny’s and exchanging a few Snapchats, we were back on the road heading home.

The group made it back to West Lafayette at around 2:00 AM, and everyone groggily unpacked equipment at Elliott Hall of Music before heading home and sleeping in the next morning. Luckily, it was Labor Day weekend, so we had time to catch up on sleep and schoolwork. And of course, we were back on the drill field Tuesday afternoon, because it was another game week after all.