The Indiana State Sycamores were facing off against the Wichita State Shockers in the final round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at St. Louis, Missouri. The atmosphere inside of Scottrade Center was electrifying with sounds of cheers, boos and heckling. Our small section of royal blue and white was surrounded by an entire stadium packed with fans wearing black and yellow, and it felt like our space was getting smaller. With one minute remaining in the final quarter, the tension inside the arena was building to the point of combustion. After a very hard-fought game, the Sycamores were in the lead over our greatest rivals. Wichita, however, was not going to give up without a fight.
The last minute was brutal as the teams continually took time-outs. As Wichita State played Twisted Sister’s “We’re not going to take it,” we were told to prepare “The Wabash Cannonball.” There were multiple battles in play that day: team versus team, mascot versus mascot, band versus band and fan versus fan. We did what we did best that day, which was maintaining high morale, and we did it well. Once we finished playing, the Sycamore section was rejuvenated with energy to last them the rest of the game. The timer kept on going and as it seemed certain that victory was ours, we were told the get the fight song ready. The buzzer sounded and Scottrade Center erupted. We played “March On,” confetti was flying everywhere, and Sycamore fans were shouting that victory song. We were heading to the NCAA Tournament.
That was one of many memories that I had with the Sycamore Basketball Band. It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since the Sycamores won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. It still feels like yesterday. Every single person that was in the band with me at that time have all since graduated. They’re living their lives now, working or going through grad school. Whenever we meet up, it’s never long before we are recalling stories from our “glory days.” Although we got to experience a lot of cool things, it wasn’t always rainbows and sunshine. Nevertheless, we all grew closer to each other, we created memories and we always managed to have a good time, even when we weren’t initially feeling it. We were a family.
I’ve gone to a couple of games as a member of the audience since I retired from the basketball band, but it’s definitely not the same. A part of me still wants to suit up and join the saxophones, but I know that’s a part of my life that has long since passed. I miss the playing alongside other talented musicians, the double headers, Super Fan heckling the referees, dancing around with my saxophone, Surfin’ Sam and even the Pacesetter Sports jingle (you are probably singing to it right now). But most importantly, I miss the friendships that I made while I was a part of the group. My friends were what made the experience memorable. Most of my memories revolved before and after the game, especially on the trips. We never knew where we were going to end up next, it all depended on the team. But either way, we were ready for the next game, the next team and the next adventure.
