Sleepless in Tuscaloosa

It's 3Am last Saturday morning and Madeline is roused by her cell phone. Awakened by her roommate's snoring and unable to get back to sleep, Perrin was killing time riding her Tuscaloosa, Alabama hotel elevator. Exhausted and near tears, Perrin reached out to her little sis. A touching moment, though I've never found conversation with Madeline was in any way sleep-inducing. A few hours later Madeline's cheering at the final JV football game at a cold, windy, and rainy high school football field and Perrin is marching before the Crimson Tide crowd in Denny Stadium. Unfortunately, both the Johnnies and the Vols lost. Bummer.

Suprise visit

So here I am Thursday night, lounging on the sofa, watching TV, winding down at the end of a long day. The phone rings: "Hi Dad, what are you doing?" "Nothing." "I'm almost to Columbus. Can you come pick me up?" Talk about your silly questions! UT had Thursday and Friday off for fall break and Perrin caught a ride home with some friends visiting friends in Cleveland. It was a joy having her home for the weekend. Not that we did anything special, but just having her around was nice. She looks great - I think she's thriving at school.

Cheerleading in Johnstown

If you thought that college marching bands, and the football game you have to watch to get to the halftime show is all we're interested in these days, you'd be wrong. We also enjoy the thrill of small-town high school football, where the Johnstown Johnnies are 5-1, and ranked in the top 10. Of course, the real reason we go, is to watch Madeline cheer. Yes, that's right, we are the proud parents of a high school cheerleader. You should see the girl go. So, tomorrow night is a big away game with East Knox. It's a conference game and the East Knoxians are currently #2 in the state (though not for long). Wish us luck!

Since I don't want the Zirilles and the rest of my old friends in the Big Red Band don't get too upset, Go Big Red!

Circle Drill

I was hoping to see one of the UT band's famous circle drills (imagine the band doodling spirograph designs on a football field) but I may miss out. According to our inside sources, the circle drill is being performed at the Notre Dame game, so Ellyn, you're in luck! The rest of us will have to hope and pray that they show some of the halftime on TV (yea right!). Robin, Madeline and I will be in Knoxville two weeks later for the Vanderbilt game, and then in Lexington to see the Vols take on UK the week after that. According to anonymous sources, it'll be the Christmas show taking the field at UK, and I have a feeling that's what'll be playing the week before. I'm sure it will be outstanding, but I was really hoping to get to see a famous Pride Circle Drill. Well, if there's a bowl game in Tennessee's New Year's plans, then maybe we'll catch some halftime on TV (start lobbying the networks now).

Blog as photo album? Maybe, maybe not.

I'm just starting to get the hang of this. Not sure I like a blog as a form of sharing photos, but I'll give it a try for a while. If you want to look at the pics in chronological order, you'll have to start from the bottom and work up. Maybe I can figure out a better way to go about this some day. For now, enjoy. This band can march! (You probably already know this, but you can click the pics for a larger version.)

Postgame Orange Crush So much orange and white. Reminds me of a creamsicle.

Halftime, UT v. Ole Miss

Halftime, UT v. Ole Miss

Halftime, UT v. Ole Miss

Halftime, UT v. Ole Miss

Halftime, UT v. Ole Miss

Halftime, UT v. Ole Miss That's Perrin, second from the left.

Halftime, UT v. Ole Miss Halftime featured songs from West Side Story. The musicianship is fantastic, the marching crisp, and the flags twirl with grace.

Pregame, UT v. Ole Miss

Pregame, UT v. Ole Miss

Pregame, UT v. Ole Miss

Pregame, UT v. Ole Miss Pregame is really colorful. About half the color guard marches with University of Tennessee flags, and the rest carry flags the colors of the SEC schools. That's Perrin with the orange and white UT flag.

Perrin in the UT Color Guard That's our girl! The band takes their seats in the stadium and plays while the crowd slowly fills the place (it takes a while to seat 107,000 +)

Salute to The Hill At the base of The Hill, the band stops and plays a few tunes, including Rocky Top, of course. The crowd is huge. You can't see it here, but there's a long set of steps heading up The Hill (Perrin's math class is up there, quite a trek), covered in people, covered in orange.

Heading down to "The Hill" They turn the corner, and are met by about 30,000 screaming fans, as the band marches to the bottom of The Hill.

Pride of the Southland Band parades to Neyland Stadium An hour and a half before kickoff or so the band marches from the music building to the stadium. It's colorful, and loud.

Here we go

So, Robin and I visited Perrin at UT this past weekend. The girl is thriving, the Vols won, and the Pride of the Southland Band rocks. I was looking for a way to share the pictures we took, and, well, that's how I wound up here. We'll see how it goes. Keep an eye out, photos are on the way.