Last Game

First off, these blogs are starting to get very annoying. It seems like whenever I decide to post a comment on someone else's, it will decide to put it up whenever it feels like. Case in point is when I made a comment on mine to I think it was Benvolio, and it didn't post, so a couple of days later figuring that it wasn't going to post, I wrote it up again, and lo and behold, they post together at the same time. Wow, do I look stupid with these things or what? Although some might find it interesting to see what my tendencies in writing are, and how similar my same subject comments are.

Now onto the game. Today was my last football game ever that I'll be playing in for the rest of my life. In a previous post, I mentioned Kentucky Football in general. Let me make a list of my observations of what the fans do for fun and reasons why they still come when the football game has become a lost cause.
- Blow-up balls. They're all over the place being thrown around.
- Third quarter wave. The band or student section starts the wave and see how many times we can make it around the stadium. I think the highest is four. We haven't done this so much this year as the fans are all usually gone by the third quarter.
- Not returning footballs. Everytime the opposite team scores a field goal or make the extra point. The crowd grabs the ball, keeps it from security, throw it once around the stadium, then launch it over the side on somebody's poor, now dented car. I think they lost three last game and two this game. This has only started recently. It's only when the opposite team scores, which is all the time.
- The shows we put on. We've had combined shows with other marching bands, 400+ on the field. We've had a 50 yard American flag spread across the field, and a fly by at the climax of the National Anthem. It was timed just perfectly. It was pretty impressive. But we generally do a decent job.
- To watch our cheerleaders, they're incredibly good. I really didn't notice till I saw the other team's cheerleaders who were just terrible, and they announced how for the sixth year, they'll be defending their position as national champions.
- To laugh at our dance team, they're incredibly awful. I could do just as well as them, and I can't dance to save my life.
- Our mascots. They're usually pretty cool.

We actually won the game today. 14-13. They were ahead 0-13 at the beginning of the fourth and we came back and won. I'm sure all the seniors were happy, as today was the last home game, and senior day. Since this is my last home game, I just want to put the parts of the game I'm going to miss.
- BYFBO. I won't say what this acronym is. Trust me, you don't want to know. Let's just say I'll miss playing at ungodly loud and obnoxious volumes. I didn't choose my name as trueblat during high school without a reason. When marching band judges tell you, and just you, to quiet down, you can listen to the recordings and tell where you breathe, yeah, let's just say I was a little overzealous in marching band. How many judges tell tuba players to be quiet? At least college it doesn't matter as much. They always want more, with a good sound of course.
- Sousaphone in general. Nothing beats these things.
- Watching the poor freshman in their ignorance get trashed the night before, then come for an 8:30 A.M. call time. I get a kick out of it, and have absolutely no sympathy for them whatsoever, especially when they do it more than once.
- "My Old Kentucky Home" This is by far, the best state song ever written. None others come close. Well maybe a couple. If you haven't heard this, you need to, learn it, memorize it, love it. Ill never get sick of it, and with the marching band you hear it at least 5 times a week. Knowing the it was the last time I'd be singing it with the band, I almost had a tear in my eye, almost.
- The tuba players in general. That's all I'll say about that.

Things I won't miss
- The amount of time. Everybody who's been in marching band know this.
- Band camp. It may not be a problem for BYU, but frankly I get sick of 24/7 strings of perverted jokes, where there isn't ever a real conversation.
- Terrible games.
- Jokes in college about making it to state. You know you've been in it long enough when you want to make fun of the college kids who make fun of the seriousness of high school marching band competitions.
- Senior assistants and graduate students who don't know how to lead a band, or when to play.
- Trips. They just are never fun for me when everybody's highlight for them is to go and get drunk.
- Being mistaken for being a leader. While certainly capable of it, I never want to. But being older, more mature, confident, maybe borderline conceded, people always deferred to me in issues. Course there were times when I got sick of the ignorance and took control of half the band in instructing them. That probably didn't help, but there was too much dissention in the band and SOMEBODY had to take charge who knew what was going on.

Altogether, good times... good times...