Well…at least on my part. The girls may be a little disgruntled.
My nieces’s marching band came in third at State! Of course, they were hoping for second, or even better…first. They won third last year too, and expected to keep moving up the ladder. In fact, they did. Their score this year was even better than last.
It’s really tough to convince teenagers that there is honor in placing anywhere other than first. I wish they could have seen the entire field of ten bands compete. They would have been so amazed at the competition, and they might have felt better about their standing.
We left the western suburbs of Chicago shortly after 5:00 a.m. The trip to Indianapolis took us less than five hours. With an early stop for lunch outside of town, and crossing a time zone, we were at the ticket booth of the RCA Dome by noon their time. The class C competition started at 1:05.
I was blown away by the performances! It’s astonishing what 70 to 138 kids can accomplish in three and a half months. The uniforms were incredible, the music was thrilling. The pageantry of the flags and rifle work stirs your soul. Each performance was spectacular, and I feel blessed to have been able to see all of them, not just my nieces.
What a memory these kids will have.