We see them almost weekly out on the football field giving their all for the maroon and gold, battling other schools, entertaining the fans, and exciting every emotion that Boston College fans have to cheer on their team. But how much do we really know about the time and effort it takes to be one of BC's Superfan superstars? How much do we really know about the grueling practices and dedication it takes to be one of the select few to dazzle the Heights game after game? No, we're not talking about Chris Crane, Brandon Robinson, or the rest of the 6-foot-plus men in shoulder pads and helmets that dominate the football field week after week. This is the one and only Screaming Eagles Marching Band.
Though it may come as a surprise to some people every time the announcers come over the loud speaker proclaiming "Boston College's largest and most visible organization" is about to enter the stadium, but at over 180 strong, in full force, full volume, and full uniform, the BC Marching Band dazzles fans year after year supporting some of BC's most highly prized athletic teams.
Entertaining the largest gathering of BC students, faculty, and fans, however, is no easy job. The band arrives two weeks prior to the start of classes to prepare for the coming season.
Kristina Aste, a member of the band front ensemble and A&S '09, describes this time as "the most important aspect of the marching band season," as it is the majority of the group's rehearsal time for the year.
"Camp is pretty intense," says David Healey, marching band director and former trumpet player for the BC band. He described the grueling schedule that begins at 9 a.m. (8 a.m. if you don't plan on sleeping in Conte Forum and eating breakfast on the field) and continues until 11 p.m. every night.
"Not many people realize that while most athletic teams have two-a-days [two practices a day] we have something more along the lines of four-a-days," says Michael Minkoff, battery (drum line) section leader and A&S '09. Minkoff, also a member of the Marching Band Executive Board, refers to the sectional rehearsals from 9 to 11 a.m. each morning, 1 to 2 p.m. field rehearsals in the heat of the day to learn the movements for the pre-game and half-time shows, additional sectional rehearsal from 2 to 4 p.m. each afternoon, and a final evening rehearsal on the field (this time with instruments) from 7 to 10 p.m.
"Try running around a field for up to three hours at a time, while singing as loudly as you can, all while staying in time to an obscenely high decibel metronome, and simultaneously focusing on a conductor," Minkoff says.
"The easiest part is when they get here," Healey says, describing the enthusiasm of the band members once they arrive at camp. Of the approximately 70 freshmen joining the band this year, about half of them have never marched before. Healey and the rest of his staff take nothing for granted when it comes to the technicalities of marching on the field. He says that it is sometimes harder to teach people who have marched before to break their habits and do it a different way than it is to teach a student to march from scratch.
On top of learning the proper marching techniques, students must learn to hear the music in musical phrases, coinciding with each movement and reformation.
"By the end of band camp you can't separate the veterans from the rookies," Minkoff says, which is crucial to the success of the band in the beginning games of the season.
Game days are just as hectic as the days of camp, as the marching band must report to the stadium hours before the expected kickoff time. While BC fans are tailgating in the Mods or gearing up for game time, the band is practicing and preparing.
"Football game day is amazing," Aste says, "but it's really long." Morning rehearsals include walk-throughs of entrances onto the field, as well as section warm-ups.
Despite the nerves and the excitement, Healey says the game-day setting is one of his favorite moments, comparing it to a test that you're so prepared for you know nothing could go wrong. "We purposely try to break them during rehearsals. We want to see where their limits are during rehearsal, so we don't discover them in a performance," he explains.
Although on the first day on the field at camp new band members are placed in the center of the field and told to imagine what it will be like completely full of screaming fans, game days are the only time for this actual experience.
Although the Screaming Eagles are smaller than other schools' marching bands (about 180 members whereas other bands have upward of 300), BC's band is about 2 percent of the undergraduate student body of the school, double the national average of 1 percent.
Despite a smaller size, however, the band's goal is still the same. "When you can hear the band resonating throughout the entire stadium, whether we are in the stands or on the field, you know that we are doing our job. That job is making the game day experience the same great experience every single game, regardless of the scoreboard," Minkoff says.
Not only is the band's size unique, but also the relationship that BC has with its marching band is unparalleled. "Our band is distinctive if not unique in the material that we play in the stands during the game and the relationship we have with BC fans, and BC students," Healey says. "This kind of engaging atmosphere does not exist in the majority of other colleges.
"We have a mandate to provide the fans with the highest quality performance because they expect that and deserve that for Boston College," Healey says, expressing his delight at being able to work with such smart and talented students at BC.
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