November 9th, 2019: a day the Illini family will remember forever. At 7:27 p.m. in East Lansing, Michigan, the Illini not only made the largest comeback in school history... but they secured their sixth win, meaning the FIGHTING ILLINI WERE GOING BOWLING! And that was just about the coolest, and most stressful sporting event I have ever attended. The greatest comeback in school history! Wow! I was lucky enough to be in the stadium (well, on the field… #iykyk) with the Marching Illini—it was the most perfect away game for us to travel to.

After that electric win, my friends and I started researching all of the possible bowl game predictions. The marching band follows the team wherever post-season travel leads. "We'll go to San Francisco if we win the next few games," "Okay, New York if we only win one more," "Maybe it'll be the one in Detriot?" after all of the predictions and "what ifs," when it was announced we were going to the Redbox Bowl in San Francisco, California pure excitement roared throughout campus, especially for all 375 Marching Illini members. After working with the athletic department and receiving generous donations, our trip was completely covered. My band director, the amazing Barry Houser, worked tirelessly for 20 days to get 375 band members, plus staff, across the country to support the team and perform at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. Our first bowl game in five years went something like this:

December 28, 2019

Amanda Brennan

I flew out to California two days early with my family, but the rest of the band arrived on the 28th, two days before the Redbox Bowl! Band members started trickling into San Francisco slowly, as the majority of the band was delayed for six hours in the Champaign airport due to fog and others were flying out of airports from across the country. A few friends and I ventured to Fisherman's Wharf where we ate at a "hole in the wall" seafood restaurant, Nick's Lighthouse. Perfect for San Francisco! Then, we walked to Ghiradelli Square for chocolate samples, a sundae, and shopping. Once we returned to the hotel (the amazing Marriott Marquis) around 11 p.m., the whole band had made it in, and it was time to get situated and rest up for the next day.

Saturday, December 30, 2019

Amanda Brennan

GAME DAY. BOWL GAME DAY. WE MADE IT. The excitement was HIGH and the energy was HIGHER. "Bus fumes" at 8:30 a.m., and our seven busses of bandos drove down 101 South to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara ready to cheer our Illini to victory! After about an hour-long drive, we arrived and warmed up in the parking lot where we were parked outside of the stadium. First, we performed at an Illinois Alumni Association event at a nearby convention center, then ate a quick Chick-Fil-A lunch, and finally paraded into Levi's Stadium. Imagine 375 college kids with instruments walking in a single file line throughout a stadium. We looked like the world's longest snake. In fact, to enter the field to perform, we entered a tunnel at the opposite end zone from where we were sitting. The color guard was at the front of the line, and by the time we were at the tunnel waiting to get on the field to perform our pregame show, the last line of instruments was just standing up to leave our section of seats. After a successful pregame show and "Star-Spangled Banner" performance combined with Cal, we returned to our seats across the stadium, after walking and stretching like a snake again. The game started off well but was downhill after halftime. Although we lost 35-20, everything about the day was unforgettable. Our halftime show was "The Music of Queen" and ended with the "Incomparable Three in One," an Illinois tradition. We headed back to our hotel, changed out of our uniforms, ate a quick dinner and then my friends and I Ubered to Ghiradelli Square for ice cream. It was a classic night in San Francisco before the band left the next morning. My family and I stayed a couple of days extra in the city.

In September, if you had told any Illini fan that we would be going to the Redbox Bowl in San Francisco in December, we wouldn't have believed you. The road to the bowl game was up and down, but securing that sixth win against Michigan State led to one of my greatest college memories so far. The city of San Francisco had so much to offer, and being the travel nut I am, I was more than excited to visit a new place. Before the band arrived, my family and I stayed in Sausalito, CA, on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Those first few days, we explored the Golden Gate Bridge National Recreation Area and Muir Woods National Monument. The 200-foot redwood trees in Muir Woods were breathtaking, and watching the sunset at the Bridge from Battery Spencer was beautiful. Other Illini fans had the same ideas, as we passed many people wearing Illinois gear in the National Monument and exchanged an "I-L-L," "I-N-I" cheer with them. If you have the chance to visit San Francisco, make sure both of these national parks are on your list. Better yet, if your college marching band is lucky enough to attend the Redbox Bowl, I hope you can have the same once-in-a-lifetime experience that I did.

Here's to another great season of college football...only 138 days till band camp!

Golden Gate Bridge from Battery Spencer, 12-27-2019Amanda Brennan

Muir Woods National Monument 12-27-2019Amanda Brennan

Practice at the University of California, Berkeley 12-29-2019Amanda Brennan

Riding the cable car! 12-29-2019Amanda Brennan

Dinner at Swiss Louis on Pier 39 12-29-2019...Happy Birthday Jackie!Amanda Brennan

Bowl Game! 12-30-2019Amanda Brennan

Sea Lion on Pier 39 12-31-2019Amanda Brennan