Mountaineer fans who are going to Jacksonville, as well as those who are staying home, can follow the West Virginia University Marching Band online, asThe Pride of West Virginiatravels to Florida for the 2007 Toyota Gator Bowl on New Years Day. The Band will provide a blog on its website atwww.wvuband.orgto record all the highlights.
The Bands web designer, Chris Southard, will be reporting on what the Band does throughout the trip.
No WVU bowl appearance would be complete without the WVU Marching Band,Southard said.So for those who aren’t traveling to Jacksonville, we want to bring �€~The Prideto you. This is our way to connect the families and fans with the University experience.
Southard also did a blog for the Band during last years bowl game in Atlanta, and received a lot of positive feedback from parents and fans. (For last years blog, seehttp://wvuband.blogspot.com.)
This year I am working with Sprint, which is providing broadband access and a PDA camera phone so the blog can be updated at each of the events and stops the Band makes,he said.
Beginning Thursday, Dec. 28, Southard will provide periodic updates in several formsaudio messages, text messages and photos. He will also post video highlights during the trip.
We will bring you reports from all the band’s rehearsals as well as the performances,he said.The performances will include those at the WVU Fan Center, the Gator Bowl pep rally and parade, Universal Studios, and of course, during the pre-game and halftime activities at the game.
Approximately 350 members of the band will leave Morgantown at 5 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 28, in nine charter buses. There will be a brief stop in Beckley to pick up band members who live in southern areas of the state.
The group will arrive in Jacksonville, Fla., at noon Friday, Dec. 29, and will go right to a two-hour practice.
The next morning the Band will go to Orlando for a concert/pep rally at Universal Studios with the cheerleaders and the Mountaineer. This 10:30 a.m. event will be held in theNew Yorksection of Universal Studios in front of theNew York Public Libraryand will feature halftime songs and WVU standards. Band members will spend the rest of the day enjoying the attractions at Universal Studios before heading back to Jacksonville.
The Band will rehearse on Sunday morning, Dec. 31, and then a Pep Band and the Drumline will head to the Mountaineer Fan Center at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel at noon to make an appearance. At 1:30 p.m., the full band will perform at a WVU pep rally at Jacksonville Landing, an entertainment hub on the waterfront.
The next stop for The Pride will be the 3 p.m. Gator Bowl parade.
On New Years Day, the Band will head to the Gator Bowl tailgate party at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, where it will perform in pre-game and halftime shows as WVU squares off against Georgia Tech in the 2007 Toyota Gator Bowl.
Although the Bands schedule will be full, there will be time for the members to relax and enjoy some sightseeing. They also plan to interact with WVU fans as much as possible along the way. The Gator Bowl trip will also mark the first time the band members wear their new uniforms at a bowl appearance.
The Pride is slated to return to Morgantown by noon on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
In addition to Southards blog on the WVU Marching Bands website, band member Lauren Black will keep a blog giving a student perspective of the experience. Her dispatches will be posted athttp://bowlgame.wvu.edu/ “> http://bowlgame.wvu.edu/ beginning Dec. 28. This site will also provide other fan information related to the game, such as whats happening at the popular Mountaineer Fan Center, WVU s official Fan Center at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel.
Last year, a parent wrote to the Band Office saying:On the band website there is a ton of info about the game and the bands itinerary and a Band blog. We are able to know what is going on every several hours and it makes us feel so much better being informed.
Chris even posted some audio of the Band playingCountry Roadsin the parade and it brought tears to our eyes. It was almost as good as being there! And people can leave comments to each entry. The comments are so wonderful, and everyone is so proud.