‘We are The Spirit of Tech’: Game day with The Marching Virginians

The real test what it takes to be in the band is you're here every day. Monday through Friday and we have a game every weekend. We are all constantly working together at rehearsal on game day. It's not just an individual thing that you're doing all the time. Hi, my name is Gwen Moore. I am a sophomore music education major here at Virginia Tech. And I serve as drum major of the Marching Virginians. My name is Paige Barnhart, I'm a senior in the MV’s, I'm also the executive officer of the Marching Virginians. I'm a computational modeling and data analytics major. I'm Brandon Berger. I'm a senior industrial and systems engineer, and I'm the rank captain of rank 27, which is a trumpet rank. My name is Reilly VanDyke. I am a senior this year in marketing management, and this is my third year as the section leader of the Marching Virginians color guard. I think the question I get asked the most is, “Oh, what instrument do you play?” And then I go, “Oh, I'm in the guard.” And then they're like, “What is that?” and then I have to “Oh, we are the flags.” Then they're like, “Oh, that's so cool.” And that's that's kind of the extent of it. They just think it's cool that you're in the band. They don't tend to take the extra step of, oh, you get to like be down on the field and perform in front of the entire stadium. I didn't really know anything about it until I was like, well, this is going to be like part of my life. So let me go ahead and, you know, get acquainted with it. You know, I was like, oh my, like, this is so cool. You know, they get like front row seats. It was a bit of a shock and it's very different from, from what I experienced in high school. But I'm very happy that I decided to just be like, well, let me keep going with marching band, let me just keep doing it in college. Like, like what's the worst that could happen? Like, I'll get friends, I guess. I think the real, the real test of like what it takes to be in the band is like, you're here every day. You know what I mean? You were here Monday through Friday and we have like a game usually every weekend. And that's that's your whole day, We spend like 12 hours a week together. Every single day, Monday through Saturday. We're always saying even when it's cold and windy We are all, like, constantly working together at rehearsal on game day. Like, it's not just an individual thing that you're doing all the time. Seeing just such an enormous program, of people who are all so talented, just come together and make so many amazing products, but also, like, it's just such a short amount of time and just seeing what we're able to do, I think is really awesome. I feel a lot of pride for that. And I think that it's one of the first things I say when I meet people. The reason I keep doing it is because, like, I love doing this, you know, I love coming here and and learning each show and interacting with with, you know, my friends. When my friends were coming from my high school and I told them to do marching down, I was like, I'm not going to lie to you like it is a lot of work. To me, it's worth it. You know, I love going to football games. I love playing my instrument. You know, it's it's this community that I am, you know, accepted in. I'm good at. And everything you invest into it, you kind of get back and you don't really find that a whole lot in life. To me, like, it really, it takes a lot out of you. But everything you put in, I feel like you get back. So during game day, guard leadership tends to try to get here pretty early. We start by checking everybody's bags, making sure they have their lanyards, their jackets, their sweatpants, every part of their uniform. We go out to the practice field. So, we'll run through all of the different songs that we're doing for that show. We'll get there hour beforehand. Usually, we'll try to get here just so I have my bearings. Make sure I didn't forget anything, because if you forgot something, then game day traffic, you have to, you know. We all get on the field. We start doing warmups. Usually when you get here, there's people on the field, like playing football or playing, racky sack with their feet. Like, the horns love doing that. And the tubas and the trumpets love playing soccer and football. After that, maybe I'll play a little football with the trumpets. You know, football's pretty, pretty big in the trumpet section. So it's good to see, like, everyone just getting excited on game day. We play music before rehearsal to get everybody ready. We walk around and make sure everybody's all hype and everything, we do whatever we need to do and just kind of help out Paige and the directors, whatever they need. And then we have rehearsal. And then as the band starts to practice, we'll start to play with them a little bit. Then we all join together with the band to run drill. We get started, we warm up, we do some stretches to make sure everybody's ready. And then we run through some music, usually a little bit of drill, trying to not play too much. Polly will have us run through the show. We'll run through some of the stand cheers, brush up on some stuff. It's mostly just like a cleaning day. We basically just start going through all of the stuff that we have to get ready for that day. Like, do game day scenarios. So we play songs that we play during the stands during like all the first, second, third downs and stuff. Making sure, like, is the show ready for the day? Usually it is, because, you know, we're a great marching band. And then we break for, lunch or dinner, and then we get ready together, and get all dressed up in our uniforms, and then, we go out to the field and we do another short, quick warm up to get ready. We do our motorcycles tradition, which is a favorite. Then we do like, two hours before kickoff for the game, we leave from the MVC and we do like a March to Victory is what we like to call it. It’s like a parade for us. All the fans, like, lined up on both sides of the parking lot, and we get to high fived them as we're running by and we're all just getting super excited for game day. For me it helps me get in the mindset of game day. Everybody is in their uniform. We're marching down. Everybody is cheering for you on the sidelines. The entire band, 350 people, is moving to the same cadence with the same step size, the same spacing. So it really helps you feel unified with the band. We’re called the Spirit of Tech. And the March to Victory is like a perfect encapsulation of that. We're marching through all the fans and stuff. We're getting everyone hyped up, high fiving everyone. Feels like we are contributing in a positive way to get the fans still excited for the game, which is our job. When we leave our stands, there's a Hokie Bird, named Stack. He's super important to all of us. He passed away in the shootings on campus in 2007. Stack was a member of the MVs and he was a baritone player. And he was one of the 32 students who was killed in the shooting. We really honor him, and his service to the band and the energy that he brought. His mother is still associated with the MVs. She comes to games if she can. There are a lot of things we do to honor his memory. Every time that we leave for the March to Victory, everybody taps on Stack kind of in his honor. The keys are my favorite MV tradition. Every defensive third down is what's called key play. We don't even play on those downs. Everyone jingles their keys and it makes it super loud. Everybody gets a carabiner that says “MVs for life” their first year, and they get two keys— one general Marching Virginians key, and then the year key. Over time, you get new keys, leadership gets keys, and ranks sometimes make new keys. When you graduate, you have a really cool keychain that represents your years and experiences. On game days, I love when we take our rank pictures. Each rank has 7 or 8 people, and we do fun poses. For us it's called a “rank stack”. You get into the stadium and it's a feeling like no other. Walking out onto the field, hearing everyone cheering, playing music as people come in. It’s so immensely different from when you practice. You're in a completely different place, there are overwhelming factors, but it's also empowering. Looking up and seeing more of an audience than you've ever had in your life. Lane Stadium is electric. Hearing Enter Sandman from the field— unmatched. The first time I did pregame as a freshman, I thought I was going to pass out. It's such a great feeling. You kind of get used to it over time, but it's surreal as a freshman. No matter what the team's record is, the stadium is packed. The band is such a driving force behind the energy. All the extra stuff we do is passed down. Leadership can't make you have fun; it comes from older members. You'll see goofy dances, limbo between series, everything fun and silly. We're the biggest representations of the school in that moment. 66,000 people watching. We always end with Tech Triumph. Once you get to that last note, you realize all the work came together. It feels like family. This 330-person family. This ensemble has given me so much. I wouldn't have met these people or had these experiences without it. You remember random moments— piling into someone's hatchback for D2. It's family. Having just had my last March to Victory, I feel like I'm going to miss it a lot. It's bittersweet. You get emotional before, after, not during. I was extra fired up for my last game. We put seniors on the outside so they could give high fives. This year we added new cheers— “Ayo, where my dogs at?” Then someone changed it to “Ayo, where my Hokies at?” And everyone gobbled. It's silly and fun. Ever since I joined as a freshman, my section has been welcoming. I wouldn't have stuck with MVs without the community and the directors. Being part of the Marching Virginians is a very special experience. My parents met in the band. I've watched the MVs since I was born. Now I get to leave my own mark. Spirit is everything. The spirit of Tech. Respecting each other, working together, understanding hierarchy, respecting sections and leadership. Service is a big part of what we do. Hokies for the Hungry, serving the community. As drum major, I think about how to serve the band. One of my favorite parts is seeing sectional traditions. Good luck charms, passed down. Traditions build community. Playing an instrument is wild to think about— one of the most impactful decisions I ever made happened when I was 11. If I hadn't chosen trumpet, I wouldn't be here now. Half my life, playing trumpet. Go figure.