I might be getting too old for this…..
I wasn’t sure that it was even possible but I believe I may have managed to exhaust every single individual cell that it collectively takes to make up my body yesterday. Still tired muscles are screaming at me today. I have aches in places that I didn’t pay that much attention to at all to be honest before yesterday. My indifference has shifted fully to awareness this morning as those places have made their presence rather well known in a chorus of them all simultaneously questioning me with a simple: “What did I ever do to you to deserve this?” just as soon as I began the first dog walking duty of the day. Each and every step I took hurt. I am not exaggerating when I say that even my eyelashes have a different feeling to them than they had before. The collective agony of today is simply reminding me of what I volunteered to put my body through at Wake Forest’s opening football game of the 2021 season.
Why would I step forward and volunteer to put myself through such stress? There were some tangible benefits I received for my service. I received a “free” ticket to the game complete with sideline access, a new Wake Forest Band Polo, and was fed a meal from the restaurant that is generically referred to as “Chicken and Pickles” by a local morning radio show. I will also adopt that naming convention here to avoid any potential issues with calling them out by name in this blog that might be seen by all of two people if I am lucky. Those sound like some nice things but I didn’t do it for things at all. Two people that I love with all of my heart (perhaps the same two that will eventually read this) needed my help and that is why I did it. They too have committed every collective cell of their beings to the same cause: successfully performing on Wake Forest game day.
I haven’t focused on my daughter before this blog and that changes now. It was never my intention to exclude her but I can see how it might look like I have the way this blog has evolved. No excuses but the fact that she was already attending Wake when this blog concept was born impacted my access to her a little more than my son. I was so focused on making sure I didn’t miss this opportunity with him while I had it that my efforts developed a myopic view that may have given the wrong impression. It is a small step toward correcting this shortcoming by introducing her today but trust me when I say this woman is going to set the world on fire. Don’t just take my word for it, She has already had a poem published which you can read at the link below to see for yourself.
She is the drum major for the Spirit of the Old Gold and Black while my son is a trombone player. The fact that both of my children needed some help to be able to experience something they are truly passionate about was all the motivation I needed.
What I didn’t grasp at the time was the extent of what my volunteering would actually include. I have attended many games in this very stadium but never with this perspective. The thought of having sideline access might sound cool but that access was given so I could assemble and disassemble the drum major platforms and the sound equipment that the band needed while they performed. I wasn’t there to stand and absorb the football game. My primary purpose was pregame assembly/disassembly so that the band could inspire those in attendance with the national anthem and the fight song then quickly move out of the way so the game could begin.
No one in attendance bought tickets to see a band concert that day; they paid money to see a football game. Halftime brought the same assembly/disassembly ritual to support the band’s halftime show. A show again that was not the main feature. Band parents would certainly watch it along with a certain percentage of fans but halftime is the intermission for the football game. A time for bathroom breaks and concession stand trips. A time for getting up out of the seat and stretching the legs before returning back to watch the second half of the game. It’s not like buying tickets to a Pearl Jam concert where the band is the main reason you are there.
I will concede that I did get to see a small portion of game action while on the sideline but it wasn’t as glamorous as it may seem. In fact, it had quite an unexpected impact to my perspective as I continue on my aging journey. Here I was standing on the sidelines at the university I attended and there was a time I could have played college level football perhaps even at this same university. Much like the surreal experience I had recently while moving in my freshman son, my mind finally came to grips with the fact that time is now long passed. Whatever opportunity for me to once have actually played on this field is now long gone and it was never more vividly realized than while I was standing on those sidelines.
I did get to watch some portion of the game when I wasn’t being a roadie for the band. I actually was sitting amongst them as the game transpired. Again, this experience impacted my perspective much more than I could have anticipated. I found myself watching my daughter as much if not more than I did the on the field action as she conducted the band in a supporting role of the game day experience. This included her need for constant awareness of the game situation play by play. She has to look over her shoulder to see what was going on in the game so the band would only interject itself in between the plays. She has to cut them off at just the right moment so that they don’t negatively impact the team’s ability to execute the play. There are specific tunes that they use depending on the situation. The fight song of course after a Wake score but they even have a specific tune for 3rd down. She will let the band know through commands and hand signals so that they meet the needs of the situation. The task is so daunting especially when you have to also add the television broadcast element to it which means her co-drum major is donning a headset so that she can receive communications to help pull off the show. They actually alternate duties each quarter so Katie wears the headset half of the game too. This means she is just as focused on the game as anyone is wearing helmets and shoulder pads.
My perspective of a football game has been limited to wearing those helmets and shoulders pads up to the high school level and as a paying fan all the way up to the NFL level. What struck me the most about yesterday was how intense the surrounding action beyond just the game itself can be. The level of preparation and focus by the Wake Forest band was just as meaningful to the experience of yesterday’s events as the football team’s was. The only difference is perspective. A perspective that is lost unless you actually are looking for it. The next time you watch a football game, I implore you to pause and consider those behind the scenes that have worked tirelessly to make that event possible. When you hear the band play just a snippet of a song and it cuts off in perfect timing before the snap, remember there is a drum major craning their neck to make that happen. When you hear the halftime show in the background as you walk up the steps on your way to the concession stand that there were hours of practice and preparation baked into those notes you hear. Perhaps there is even some parental volunteer that is standing on the sidelines having just successfully deployed the sound equipment just so you had the chance to hear it.
There is a tradition of the band playing the alma mater at the end of the game. The alma mater is more commonly known in the Wake Forest community as “The Mother so Dear” song because perhaps equally traditional has been mumbling through the words as it is played but all exclaiming in clear, loud unison the three words that everyone knows: “Mother so Dear”. This happened again last night at the end of the game. The football team assembled on the field in front of the band along with portions of the supporting staff while the majority of paying patrons had already found the exits. I did see the starting QB gesture and express his thanks to the band and those still remaining in the student section so there are players who get it. It takes so much more to orchestrate a football game than the vast majority of us even stop for a moment to consider. I live in a glass house so no stones being thrown here but I think awareness is the key to changing that. Here is my small effort to do so as I owe it to all the Katies and Jacks of the world. Even if I can’t move the next day when I do.
