And the Band Played On

Last year, homecoming was on a rather cool and drizzly day, so I stayed in my dorm for most of the day and played games on my computer caught up on homework. This year, homecoming was on a cool, windy, and rainy day, so naturally I not only went early to the band room dedication, but also stayed for a full half of the football game.

The new band room (also known as the Fischell Band Center) is a slight upgrade over our previous location. There wasn't anything inherently wrong with the band room we had in the basement of Barton, but, you know, it is kind of nice to have a space that actually has instrument and uniform storage space. Plus the sky ceiling tiles aren't falling down and there aren't any colored fluids dripping from the ceiling. I’m sure that was very safe.

Highlights of the building dedication included: rain right in the middle of the ceremony; a multiple choice quiz with the answers a) Cornell, b) Cornell, c) Cornell, or d) all of the above; and the pep band members sneaking out the side door when we eventually got to play. (The marching band was there for the football game, so there were only a few people there representing the pep band and apparently no one had planned for the pep band being there.)

After the band room was officially dedicated, I hung around, met up with some friends, and checked out the engineering school tailgate. Yes, engineers know how to party.* A few hours later, the game was scheduled to begin. At that point, it was only drizzling a little, so a couple friends and I decided to go anyway.

Note: Stadium lights are on
Further note: It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon
Conclusion: Friday night Saturday afternoon football

Half an hour later, we were losing 10-0 to Bucknell and it was pouring. This is the point in the game where most sane people would have decided that getting pneumonia wasn't worth staying to watch their team lose. This is the point in this post where I point out that I’m a college student who probably lost most of my sanity after the second or third . . . or first . . . week of classes (Mathematica at 1 in the morning, anyone?).

Meaning that I stayed through the halftime show to see the marching band perform. It was completely worth it. Besides, I was multitasking: I was watching the football team play and taking a shower at the same time. You don’t really need soap to get clean, do you?

The marching band played “Hey Jude,” “Carry on Wayward Son,” and the Alma Mater. In the pouring rain. Some of the fans with umbrellas didn't stick it out that long. For the record, I would have stayed for the rest of the game after halftime, but I had to get to a meeting.

And in case you were wondering, Cornell beat Bucknell 45-13.

*No, not really.