cadets 2000
the cadets home show in giants stadium was the last show for us before finals. it was also the first time we would have competition all season. we practiced at the stadium along with the blue devils. they were in the stadium first, and then us. it was a very bizarre day- they ate dinner with us, we showered together, and we tried to get along. [this is a misnomer. the blue devils are perfectly good human beings, its just that on tour with 5 days to go, you tend to like the people who wear the color you wear a little more than everyone else.] we warmed up in the parking lot, and walked to the gate.george's speech tonight was unique. he told us that in 20 years of being the director he had never asked the cadets to dedicate their performance to anyone. he asked if we would do this show for gino. if you were not in the corps in 1998 or 1999 and 2000, you have no concept of what the man did for the corps. its like he awakened the human beings that secretly lived inside the maroon and gold robots. he made being a cadet fun again, and made our brass line the best it had ever been. i think we owe our 2000 success to gino and the attitude he brought with him. this night was our most emotional performance. i was crying at the end, along with most of the others who had been around for a few years. every bit of emotion was unleashed that night in front of our home crowd. [not to mention it was really clean. i am told that as i was watching the superfan video after the show in the parking lot i had my mouth wide open.] anyway, after our performance, the cadets and the blue devils were under the stands, waiting to find out who would get to do the encore. it was awkward to say the least. it turned out that we were .05 higher than them tonight. the smallest possible margin.
by the time we got to washington, we had nothing left to prove, and very little left to clean. after the quarterfinals performance we had the corps picture taken. it was up to the members to walk back to the buses in pairs. we, as a tuba section, elected to walk together in 5 sets of 2. we walked across the university of maryland as proud to be cadets as anyone ever has been. upon our arrival back to the bus area, random applause broke out from other corps, random parents, staff people, and god knows who else. i have never been so proud to be wearing that uniform in front of people. its a pain to put on, but so worth it in the grand scheme of things.
i believe that semi-finals was our best show of the season. we rehearsed in the stadium at um all day, and we had a gathering in a giant tent for us, our parents, alumni, and any other friends who happened to be around. 450 people showed up to celebrate cadetliness. i was walking to the showers in the field house after i ate, and i noticed southwind getting ready to perform. something told me i should watch. i am glad i did. that corps was so emotional i was thrilled about getting to see them. after sw, i made my way into the showers. these were not ordinary showers, but AMAZING GLORIOUS PERFECT showers. you could twist the showerheads so that 4 were pointed at you simultaniously. snack pack was already standing in one, and i asked how long he had been there. 'about 30 minutes'. no joke. i could have stood there for days. i, once again, thought i had reached the apex of human existance. there were 62 people at our warmup that night. we were transcendentally good this evening. we had the high score.
by the time finals day rolled around, we had done everything, performed everywhere, and done it all with class. my parents came out to rehearsal. that meant tons to me. our runthrough was good, and after we put our horns down, it hit me that it was over. there were no more rehearsals, no more 'RESETO's and no more sweat. we had nothing left to prove...to anyone not even ourselves. there were 72 people at the warmup tonight. it was loud. gino had us gather around, and told us that we made him want to be a better human being. so much i wanted to say to these people- half of them i would not see again after this night. gino said it all for me. as we walked to the gate, we passed all the corps waiting for retreat. they were wishing us luck, and offering moral support. i remember doug from the crossmen saying 'they [the cavaliers] ain't got nothin for ya. bring it back east.' EAST. this was the word of the year. hop told us that we were 'money players and there is a lot of money on the table.' we sang holy name in this tunnel kinda thing. there were other corps all around, and after we finished there was more random applause. i was so proud that we were respected enough by our peers that they would clap for our corps song. i am very superstitious at the gate. i gave my usual handshakes, got my usual hug, and pulled my shako down.
the rest of the night is blurry. after retreat we left the stadium with out medals clinking against our buckles. i got out of uniform, got all my belongings together, turned in my horn and my uniform. i said goodbye to all the people i cared about, snapped some pictures, and then turned around and walked towards my parents' waiting car. i immediately started sobbing. i wasn't ready to go home. two days later i was teaching little 13 year olds how to march.