BAND CAMP 2007: DAY 8

Saturday was our last day of band camp and our last day of full rehearsals this season. Our morning rehearsal was spent outside as we were hit by rain once again. At least it was just a few showers and nothing like anything that had happened last week. The Three In One started to come together as the members start to figure out their drill before we march the "ILLINI" across the field. We also took time to clean up the pregame show and give everyone more practice with playing and marching. We're finally out of the stages of just playing or just marching. From here on out, the two go together whenever possible.

At the end of the rehearsal, we made our way over to Memorial Stadium for our meeting with the team. Once we got there, we had our first look at the new stands in the north end zone for the students. It sure looks different, but it looks great! With the scoreboard now towering over the horseshoe in the south end zone, Memorial Stadium instantly has become a much more intimidating place for opposing teams. Even with renovations going on with the west side all season, it's going to be extremely loud for the first time in a while.

The team was very excited to have us there and encouraged us to play during their practice so they could get used to dealing with loud noise during actual game situations. Once they finished, they came over and listened to what music we have for the offense and defense this year. After that, Coach Ron Zook spoke to us and made his appreciation known. The team and Coach Zook love this band, and we do all we can to support them as they improve.

The afternoon rehearsal was our first one of the season inside the stadium. It was much nicer to finally march on a level field that supports our feet. Sure, the south quad is nice, but nothing beats the astroplay when rolling your toes. We played through pregame and the Three In One for most of the rehearsal. During the last half hour or so, we received the drill for our first halftime show of the season. It was definitely a nice change to work on something new. We'll have it ready in plenty of time for our season debut this coming Saturday in St. Louis.

If you can't make it down to the Edward Jones Dome, you can catch the game on espn2 at 2:30.