All Right Now, Oregon!

This Saturday Oregon played Stanford in Palo Alto, and guess who got to go with-- the band! We just got back to Eugene three or so hours ago. The trip was great, what with getting to bond with the other trumpets and band, enjoying some California sunshine, and beating Stanford in a very exciting game, but I am exhausted. Oh, and as an added bonus to the trip, my parents were there and it was their first time seeing me in the official Oregon Marching Band!

A "Duck Sandwich."

My parents are big Stanford fans and although I am now a Duck and they support me, they'll never quit rooting for that fearsome tree. They were on Stanford's campus a few hours before kickoff and were able to track down the UO alumni tent where the OMB was playing. As the band was marching quietly to the venue across campus, my parents spotted me in the crowd and yelled, "Lily! Lily! Hellooooo, Lily!!" I'm not going to say it was embarrassing per se, but the other band members were snickering and asking who had crazy Stanford fans chasing them. It was exciting to see my parents again and to have them see me in my element.  

Getting set up in the stands before kickoff.

The game itself was also very exciting. The score stayed close the entire time and I was impressed by the number of Oregon fans that were there. I guess it shouldn't be too surprising, especially since the UO is colloquially known to some as UC Eugene. Still, the atmosphere was very intense and the band played the entire time. People watching the game on TV said we were loud, which is always adds some glamour to the gig. Despite the novelty of marching on actual grass rather than turf, performing for pregame and halftime was extremely fun. And not only my parents got to see us perform, but also my good friend and neighbor Heather who goes to Stanford. The world isn't so big!

While some Stanford students were raging on Yik Yak, Heather went through enemy territory just to say hi!

The Stanford Marching Band was very, um, festive and timely. They did a pregame show spoofing the Oregon Trail computer game I remember playing a great deal of in fourth grade. It tied into the presidential campaign and Donald Trump's wagon ended up making it to Oregon and winning thanks to his unlimited resources. They also poked fun at Eugene during their halftime show in a Disney inspired show about hipsters, organic food draining your wallet, and other UO-related topics. The band was pretty great in that they brought the entire OMB snackies during the game. They are a spirited, crazy bunch. 

What a beautiful evening for some football.

On our way to the buses after the game, our director, Dr. Wiltshire, told the bigger, stronger band members to stick to the outsides of the group and stay close together. Luckily we didn't run into any skirmishes, but precautions were definitely taken. As part of our warmup in the afternoon, Dr. Wiltshire taught us some phrases to say with a smile if needed. My favorites were, "You have a beautiful campus," and, "Thank you for your hospitality." Speaking of so-called rivals and enemies, we ran into the Oregon State Marching Band on the bus ride back this afternoon at the In-N-Out Burger in Redding. They lost to Cal yesterday, but seemed to be in a good mood nonetheless.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We also saw some snow while driving through the Pass. It even rained in Fremont (where our hotel was) and Redding while we were there! Definitely caught us all off guard. I should know a little bit about weather since I got to be the weatherwoman this week on Duck TV! Check out the episode below (weather starts about 3:30 in).

It was an exciting, tiring, fun, intense weekend and I hope we get to go to a bowl game. Even if the football team goes (which they will) doesn't mean the whole OMB gets to go. Traveling with the band was excellent motivation to work even harder. All those hours of rehearsals were worth it after the game when some of the UO football team came over to our corner in the stadium and danced to our music while yelling how great we were. I could get used to that. But for now, before any more talk of bowl games or Stanford, it's time to study!