Senior Class of ‘07: Have we got great bowl memories!Monday, December 18, 2006 
Matt Baughman, tenor sax: I enjoyed marching in Disney World the exact same day as my high school band did my freshmen year.
Robbie Baker, trombone: One of the nights we had free for the Capital One bowl, we got to go see an incredible band on a great night with all of our friends that we still talk about now, three years after the fact.
Kim Clouse, clarinet: Presenting “I Am An American” at a bowl game is exhilarating. The crowd just goes crazy for it. I’m a senior and I still get goose bumps every time we play it. There’s nothing like a crowd of 50,000 people yelling “I Am An American” altogether. When we were at the Sun Bowl two years ago (December 31, 2004), we presented our normal pregame show during half time, so we did “I Am An American” at that time. There were a lot of service men and women there that had been given tickets to the game, since they were stationed around El Paso, Texas. Playing America, the Beautiful and hearing the “I Am An American” speech just seemed so much more significant in that situation.
Laura Cotterman, clarinet: I most enjoyed marching down the middle of Disney World for my first time ever in Disney World.
Sarah Cotterman, piccolo: I remember the karaoke bar we went to in Orlando. One of my friends signed another one of my friends up for singing Britney Spears’ song “...Baby One More Time.”
Alex Fohl, trumpet: The best band memory occurred my freshman year in Orlando at the Capital One Bowl. We performed in a western-themed amphitheater complete with a log cabin backdrop, troughs and mulch. The crowd was very close and the band played well. Everyone in the crowd was dancing around and getting in to the music.
Dan Ferris, baritone: I’ve spent New Year’s in 2 distinctly different ways; watching fireworks with thousands at Orlando’s City Walk and on a plane half asleep coming home from El Paso.
Tyler Fox, percussion: When we went to the Capitol One Bowl my freshman year, we got to spend New Year’s Eve on Citywalk. The atmosphere there was just electric!
Karen Halliday, mellophone: My most memorable moment at a bowl game was playing “I Am An American” towards the Arizona fans during the Sun Bowl. It gave me goose bumps to hear them cheer after Roy said “I Am An American”. It made me feel like our band was the best, not only just because we are, but also because we can inspire fans other than our own. It also showed me the kind of American spirit that the fans had.
Troy Harter, trombone: The single best memory I have of bowl travel was the evening which I got to spend with several other members of my section in Margaritaville, in the Universal Studios Citywalk. Being a Jimmy Buffett fan, the environment was incredible and it was made even better by an outstanding house band that played that night. We stayed out until midnight, dancing and singing with complete strangers while listening to music that ranged from Marvin Gaye, to the Charlie Daniels Band, to Aerosmith. It was hard to get to sleep that night. That band will be playing again this year, so maybe we can get a chance to relive that amazing evening.
Shaunna Heidegger, piccolo: While at El Paso for the Sun Bowl we went to play in the town of Mesilla, New Mexico. It’s a rather small town with a claim to fame that it has the prison where Billy the Kid was held. While walking around the town in our All-American Marching Band Blazers, I overheard a few of the local residents say “Oh they’re All-American, that must mean they’re from all over the world.” They were so nice and came up to us and complimented us on how well we played.
Matt Henke, tuba: Don’t fall asleep around the tuba section, you might lose your hair. Enough said.
Steven Hood, drum major: Three years ago on our trip to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, I met my fiancé, and we’ve had a whole lot of great times since then, and look forward to many, many more.
Adam Horton, alto sax: In El Paso I found a tumbleweed on the ground. I decided to pick it up and carry it with me around the ranch we were at.. You'd be surprised how many animals are interested when you shake a tumbleweed near them.
Kristen Ignaczak, horn: During the bowl trip to El Paso, the third time, we went to Cattlemen’s for dinner and got to ride on the tractor. My group of friends and I sang Kumbayah and were featured on our video. It was crazy.
Winter Johnston, mellophone: I have only been to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas with the band. One of the most interesting and memorable times was when we performed at a small dusty town named Mesilla. These people have probably never seen a marching band. Practically the entire town came out to see us march through the narrow streets all the way to the historical town square. It was moving to see the excited, glowing faces of the townspeople. Afterwards, we got to check out the stores and authentic restaurants which was an experience I’ll never forget!
Dan Montgomery, tuba: I’ll always remember Universal Studios at the Capitol One Bowl. During our pep rally, we played an arrangement called “Big 11 Medley” (pretty self explanatory). During the Hail Purdue part, the fans did not miss a beat and started singing the words right along with us. Soon after that the IU fight song came up, and the fans started booing so loud, I could barely hear myself play. It was amazing. After that, we were let loose on the Studio grounds, where we promptly rode the Incredible Hulk rollercoaster about 10-15 times in a row, with almost no lines by the 6th or 7th time we came around. The night there ended with fireworks to celebrate the New Year. It was amazing.
Sarah Murphy, Golden Silks: My favorite memory is being at City Walk with all my friends on New Year’s Eve at the Capital One Bowl. It was so much fun to watch the fireworks and hang out with my friends.
Daniel Poore, trumpet: My favorite Bowl memory was performing at Universal Studios in their Wild West area. It was very exciting to have many Purdue fans there and almost be an attraction to see at the park.
Meghan Messmer, trumpet: I remember boarding the plane to go on my first bowl trip my freshman year. We were headed to Orlando that year as well but for the Capital One Bowl. I walked down the jet way and the first thing I noticed were these coverings on all of the headrests that had the Purdue train logo on them. I felt like I was some kind of celebrity, as cheesy as that sounds, it was then that I realized how important the band was.
Mark Metzdorf, trumpet: I remember thinking how neat it was to be in El Paso two years ago and walk into the stadium at UTEP and have it basically be built into the side of a mountain. That kind of atmosphere just cannot be found in the Midwest and it really makes traveling to a bowl game a neat experience.
Amy Miller, trumpet: My freshman year we went to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando and stayed at this really swanky hotel. A few other trumpets and I came back after a long, hard rehearsal on our makeshift drill field in the parking lot, kicked off our shoes, jumped in the pool with our trumpets, and started blasting out a rousing chorus of Hail Purdue. People we didn’t know were standing around taking pictures of these crazy college kids playing their instruments in the swimming pool…it was hilarious!
Peter Rummel, trumpet: My favorite band memory was on the Dumbo ride at Disney World during the Capitol One Bowl my freshmen year. We were ending our day in Disney but decided to go on one last ride. Just as the ride began the fireworks over the castle began and we watched the show as we rode.
Erica Shelby, twirler: My favorite memory is from one hot day down in Orlando, my freshman year, at the Capital One bowl. We actually had a little free time after a long practice and everyone ran to go swimming at the hotel pool. The trumpets came to the pool and jumped with their instruments and started playing “Hail Purdue”. Everyone came running out of the hotel to see what was going on. It was an amazing experience.
Katie Stine, tenor sax: My freshman year, I was a member of “Pep Band A,” which had to play for the John Purdue Club late in the evening on New Year’s Eve before the Capitol One Bowl. That evening, the band was enjoying the rides at Universal Studios, and another pep band member and I were running late because of the long line for a ride. We left our friends, grabbed some ice cream for dinner (the first food we came across), and sprinted for the park entrance, eating our sundaes as we ran. I accidentally bumped into a man, and as I turned to shout a quick apology, we saw that it was Bill Kisinger, the pep band’s director! We walked with him the rest of the way, figuring that we couldn’t be late if we were with the director. When we got back to Universal afterwards, we arrived and found our section just in time for the fireworks at midnight.
Christine Tasato, clarinet: I liked marching in the parade at Disneyworld. It was the first time I’ve marched in or even been to Disneyworld. (Florida). I’ve marched at Disneyland, California though.
Patrick Schutz, BBD: One nostalgic memory occurred at the 2004 Sun Bowl. During our show, the Big Base Drum lost a wheel, but the drum crew was able to prevent the drum from falling off its cart. They continued the show down a wheel.
Sarah Tyrpak, Golden Silks: There are a couple different memories that come to mind when thinking about bowl travel. The first one is when I went to El Paso in 2002 for the Sun Bowl. During some of our “free time” we were able to cross the Mexico border and visit Juarez. That was definitely an interesting experience. My favorite memory was when we went to the Capital One Bowl the following year. The band spent New Year’s Eve at Universal Studios in Orlando. It was really neat to see all the fireworks go off in the park at midnight.
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