The Beat Goes On

Students are settling in at school. The pads have been popping at football fields across the region. Marching bands are learning the first program of the new season. All is as it should be.

This is one of the ways I measure time... or "mark time."

A back injury two weeks into my freshman season of high school football put an end to that pursuit. But that ended up being OK. I took much more pleasure from being a part of the groups responsible for the "half-time show." And there was usually much less pain involved.

A major marker on my personal calendar has just passed: the Drum Corps International World Championship. This August the competition was held at Pasadena's storied Rose Bowl Stadium and attracted a record crowd. I hosted a five hour live national "cinecast" for the Regal Theatre group one night. Then we shot the Saturday night finals for ESPN2. (That show will air Wednesday night Spetember 5th at 10PM Eastern.)

One of my co-hosts for the cinecast was Michigan State University band director John Madden. (Yes, he takes lots of ribbing because of his name but this John Madden does fly on airplanes!) John had to leave Pasadena before the DCI Finals because his 300+ member band was about to begin its on-campus camp. He's passionate about what he does and the role of the band in the MSU game day experience.

Like the football teams, the bands often return to school early too as they get ready for the season. Having moved here recently from Boone, the Appalachian State Mountaineers helped mark the time. Just as coach Jerry Moore gets his national champion Appalachian State Mountaineer football players ready, director Scott Tobias is getting his Mountaineer marching band ready too. You can often hear the sound of the drum line wafting over the trees onto King Street. It's the sound of an awakening.

All is as it should be.

Even though I'm in Wilmington, I'm anxious to go back and see the fruits of their labors at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Go Apps!