I have been a huge Packer fan all of my life. I grew up here in Wisconsin, where many view Sunday as a holy day just for the football. In all of my years here, I never actually went to a live packer game at Lambeau field. That is not to say that I am lazy by any means, it is just that difficult to get tickets (for a reasonable price... I am a college student you know). This all changed two weeks ago, and if you are a Packer's fan, you can do the math and see what game I am talking about. That's right, two weeks ago was the NFC championship game played at Lambeau (it is basically the biggest game that can be played by the Packers in that stadium). Oh... but it gets better. Not only did I go to the game, but I was paid to go to the game. How?
It has been yet another luxury of being apart of the Wisconsin Marching Band. For both playoff games, they got a handful of us to play some of our 5th quarter music during half-time, to travel the stadium playing songs (just like we do at Camp Randall for Badger Games) and to hold the American Flag during the national anthem. As much as I love marching for the badger games and the atmosphere surrounding Badger football, I have never experienced a game like this before. Maybe it was the stinging cold, but I like to think that it was standing on that field with the American flag as I watched the Packer team come running out of the tunnel literally 20 feet away from me. I remember thinking, it doesn't get better than this. But it did.
I don't now how many of you know much about musical instruments, but you really run into some problems when playing in the negative temperatures. The biggest problem is, as a trumpet player, your valves freeze which basically means... you can't play any notes! While many desperately tried to warm up their valves to go play some music for the crowd, either by just blowing air onto them, or even using a rubber band to attach hand warmers onto the valves (brilliant!), a couple buddies of mine and I decided why not go play for the box seats and suites that are indoors! What happens next is basically a lucky chain of events. Pretty soon we were making our rounds, going from suite to suite playing some music, and receiving much praise from the fans. Turned out someone really liked what we were doing, and asked us to play in the room next door where the governor was at. We were all pretty excited just about that, the governor is a pretty big deal. Well along with the governor, in that same suite was the Secretary of the Packers, who invited us to go to the "executive" boxes to play some Wisconsin songs for them. That "them" being the coaches family, Packers executive, and other families. So what started as a simple idea of playing some music indoors turned into a private tour of the executive area of Lambeau. I have lost count of the number of times I have played On Wisconsin, our fight song, (mostly because the badgers tend to score a lot), but playing it in the executive box at the NFC championship Packers game has probably been my favorite.
While a Packer win would have topped the night off, I still can't help to think back to that night as one of the best of my life. Just being in that electric stadium on such a profound night, seeing Brett Favre play (hopefully not his last game!) is enough to make it an unforgettable experience.
Below I found a video on youtube of the band's performance during halftime (remember, the sound quality is poor because half of us couldn't play due to the cold, and the half that could... well... between your face being numb and the instrument being frozen.. you get the point.)
I have one of my personal pictures here.. it isn't even one of the game, well technically it is of the game because it is of a flat screen TV in the elevator on our way to the executive boxes. It's my favorite picture because it is a way nicer TV then I will ever have, and well... it's in an elevator! SWEET
5 comments:
First of all, that sounds absolutely AMAZING!! Second, great idea to play INSIDE!! I grew up within 30 minutes of Green Bay and you are right, Sunday is a holy day of obligation to watch the Packers. When I was little, I actually had basketball games changed because I was supposed to play during the Packer game!!
A few years ago, I was actually able to get a tour of Lambeau after it was remodeled. Isn't it awesome? It blew my mind to see all the perks that the people in the boxes get!
Thanks for braving the cold and representing the UW up at Lambeau!
That is definitely a story that you will never forget. I was actually feeling pretty bad for the UW band while watching the game sipped hot cocoa and eating pigs in a blanket. You guys looked pretty cold out there without bundling up like all the fans in the stands and even most of the players.
My family has season tickets for the Packers games and going to Lambeau never gets old and there are always new experiences to be had. It is the atmosphere of the Packers community that can never be replicated by any other sports team. If you didn't tailgate before the game it is a must for any Packer fan. I'm extremely jealous of every person I come in contact with that went to the game, as my parents didn't take me to either playoff games (only my older brother and their friends and brothers/sisters).
During half time, after each song we played I would run to one of the players benches because they have these HUGE heaters that blow hot air into a tube that goes under all the seats. I really need to invest in one of those
Was that the first time the band had played at Lambeau?
The band has played at packers games before. Last october, and in the past, we actually performed a marching drill in uniform for pregame and half time. This was just a gig though where about a hundred of us got paid to go.
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