We played our songs, Black Magic Woman, Smooth/Oye Como Va, Novus, and Yaleo. With a point from Aubrey, we marched off of the field and outside of the gate where we relaxed. With a "Great performance!" from Mr. Lewis, we were sure we would take home some nice trophies. As we all got changed into our normal, but heavy, clothes we headed up to the stands to watch the last few bands perform. Soon enough, the awards came.
The Class C awards were called, which were most likely ignored by the band. After they were finished, Class B awards were next. Soft 'yes's were said as the 4th and 3rd place Class B bands were announced. We knew London was either 1st or 2nd now. "2nd place band for Class B," the announcer said, "is... London." Following this was a cheer from the high-pitched voices of the more enthusiastic members of the band. Adam and Aubrey confidently accepted the award, placed it on the ground in front of them, and immediately returned to attention. We patiently awaited for the State Qualifiers, which would shortly be called after a few moments or hush from the audience.
The bands that qualified for State were starting to be announced. The announcer said a B band, which got me down, thinking they did better, since they got all of the Class B awards. A pause hushed the crowd. "London". As a chill rose through our bodies, we screamed until we couldn't any more.
| Quote: |
| The London Marching Band had done it. WE had finally made State. |
All of our hard work had finally payed off! Tears of joy ran down from many faces. Making it to State was the most amazing feeling anyone could get, especially after five long years of failed attempts. Soon enough, after the joyous hugging and high-fives, the band made our way back to the buses, where we ate our lunch. And again, we were back on the road to our next competition.
The buses pulled in to Teays Valley High School's parking lot, where our next competiton would take place. We found ourselves on the field, yet again, marching out to our preset positions for the show. The band easily went through the songs. The dancing in Smooth was yet again smooth, the 'HUH!' in Oye was loud and to the point, the marching in Novus was swift and light, and the Grape Vine's in Yaleo was uniform and exxagerated. The croud seemed to love our show! Yet again, we had performed a close to perfect show. We again marched off of the field and a ways away from it, where we soon stopped to take a breather. Since Tailgate wasn't provided, we changed and split up into groups; Some played football, when the more hungry ones headed to the consessions inside the stadium for a bite to eat.
The awards were getting closer and closer. The Teays Valley Marching Band performed their show afterward. Since the OSSB (Ohio State School for the Blind) Marching Band did not perform due to a broken down bus, the awards came sooner than planned. Class C awards flew by. The highlight of all of it was Madison Plains had taken 1st in Class C. Class B awards subsequently followed. "Best Percussion goes to— London!" Best Auxillery, Best Field Commander in Class B, and Grand Champion of B/C all went to the London Red Raiders; loud cheers roared following each award announced. Aubrey, Adam, Josh, Jason, and Shelby all stood on the field, along with many other great bands. They had a number of trophies to carry, one for each. They all sat in front of them as they stood in attention, honoring London. Soon, after all of the Class A and AA awards were announced and presented, the State Qualifiers were to be called next.
"The following bands have qualified for State Finals," the announcer said, "And they are: Madison Plains..." Cheering sounded from a croud of people, along with us, showing some support for our rivals. We braced ourselves for whatever was going to be called or not. Either way, we would come home with lots of hardware and the satisfaction of a job well done. The announcer continued. He had said London, believe it or not. We had once again made State!
No one that wasn't there could describe the feeling of it all, the joy, the happiness. This was it, the moment we have all been waiting for. Sure enough, it will only get harder from here.
