Strength and Solidarity

Surprising the band, the Fair Grove Football team came to MSU in support of their competition on Saturday, October 9th.

The band was competing against ten other class B bands that day with their piece, “Grand Slam: a Baseball Tribute.”

“We placed 8/11 in our class, and 8/13 of the “Maroon Class” which included the Class A bands. While we didn’t make it to finals with this score, we were less than 2 points from that, so it’s nice to see that we were so close and improving with each performance,” explained Natalie Palomo, the Middle School and High School Band Director. 

While the band has these competitions during their season they don’t normally get much of a supporting crowd for a lot of factors. Varying from the fact that tickets cost money, the band is usually competing pretty far away, and the fact they are also usually playing earlier in the mornings, “it’s hard to get a big audience early on,” stated Palomo. When the Football Team showed up, it was a welcomed surprise. 

The band can always be found at the Fair Grove Football Team home games. Kyle Fritts (12), a member of the football team shared, “Coach Voorhis had been planning on the team attending for a long time. He saw how important they are to Friday nights and he made sure to let the football team know as well.”

 “We had learned about it on Monday and had to keep it a secret all week,” explained Will McMains (12). When the band was walking onto the field for their performance there was a roar heard from the stadium seats. 

“The impact is just awesome. We usually don’t have huge crowds when we compete…” Palomo went on to say, “having the team there meant that for the first time (and maybe only time) this season, we got to enter the field to an uproar of applause and cheering. While our band parents that do attend are so appreciated and always give us some love, it’s a big difference between 5-10 parents and almost 70 football players in our audience.”

 “Hearing that as you enter the field, and knowing that it’s for you, can make a big difference on morale, effort, and pride,” informed Palomo.

After the performance, the football team joined the band in a, loosely put, post-game tailgate. There was food, cornhole, and a football being passed around. “It just felt like two families coming together for a big party… it was amazing. My favorite part would have to be playing cornhole with Zoey Hupman, Ayden Teaster, and Christian Allen,” explained Fritts.