Fantabulous, Exhaustive Weekend

Looking toward east stands during Halftime

Well, I am back after a long weekend attending Homecoming at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. And after seeing Illinois lose AGAIN, I am convinced I am the “curse” for the team. There have been previous years where Illinois has actually won their football game on Homecoming day, but in my now 18-year tenure (geez!) as a “fossil” band member, I cannot for the life of me remember what years we may have won. Last year, the first year I did not attend Homecoming, they won the game and ended up going to the Rose Bowl (and losing). Thank goodness the reason I stayed home was for an event that was even more fun.

Foellinger Auditorium on the south end of Quad

I arrived in Champaign around 12:30 PM and checked in early to my motel room at Red Roof Inn. I was worried at first that my first-floor room was going to provide noise from the second floor motel room above me. Luckily, it seemed as though I had decent dwellers around me. The other side of the motel, however, provided a run of rooms that were filled with party animals. I had about 90 minutes before the Band Building was going to allow check in. So I wanted to make sure that I found a parking space close to the band building. With a bunch of luck, a parking space opened up for me just as I pulled into the parking lot. I then walked to the nearby Quad to check it out, see what’s changed, and to take pictures, of course. Walking from the band building to the Quad meant that I was going to be walking past Newman Hall, where I spent four of my five years living; mostly out of convenience and proximity to the Quad, band building and Architecture Building. Oh, and the weekly maid service and sink that was provided in each room.

When I arrived downstate, the temperatures were very unseasonably warm. It had to be in the mid-80’s. That did not go well with the wardrobe that I packed. Friday’s rehearsal and parade were quite warm marching in jeans. The warm weather also led to the “official” jacket being scrapped for most of the night, which meant all my pockets for music, charts and other stuff were unstuffable. However, as is the case most Fall night here, there can be warm days but VERY cool nights. When we arrived at the stadium to practice our drills for pre-gram and halftime, the winds started picking up. Those who left their jackets behind soon found out what a temperature spread we can have.

Illini Union on north end of Quad

The walk into the stadium revealed what had been under construction over the course of the last 18 months. The 1950’s pressbox on the west side of the stadium was now replaced by a state-of-the-art pressbox, along skyboxes that lined the stadium probably about 60 yards, from the 20-yard line on the south, to the 20-yard line on the north. The north endzone, once occupied by temporary stands Marching Illini Fossil Band and porta-potties underneath, were now replaced with all new work-out facilities underneath, with permanent stands for the Marching Illini and the the Student section. The stands for the Marching ILlini were “double-wide”, which accommodated foot traffic and instruments without everyone else having to get up. Seeing what was now occupied by everyone EXCEPT the Marching Illini Fossil Band. So this begged the question where we were now seated. AAACCCKKK!!! We were seated in stands that if you looked straight (gayly-forward) out to the field, you were looking at the north endzone. So we didn’t not have much of an opportunity to capture the game, except on the huge video screen/scoreboard.

Surprisingly, the game went by VERY fast, with more flags thrown for pagaentry sake for the pre-game and halftime performances than for fouls committed by the football players. Speaking of which, there were quite a few cute ones out on the field. Even though it was National Coming Out Day, I was wasn’t about to let my salivary glands show that they had been pushed into overdrive. Heyyyyyyyyyy, maybe this is why one sees so many football players spitting all the time?

There was one person in the drumline who looked VERY familiar. Besides someone I may have known in the band. After I got home, it finally dawned on me…this was a guy who I went to high school with (which I didn’t know at the time), who resided in a three-person dorm room with a trumpet player I slept with my freshman year. I recall waking up the following morning and he had said something to the trumpet player and me in a derogatory way which basically outed us, despite the fact that when we went to sleep, we slept with our faces at opposite ends of the bed. That had only been the second time (I believe) I was seeing someone since coming out to myself four years earlier as a freshman in high school.

Yours truly in front of a refurrbished bass drum from the early 1900

The football game was not as exciting as it could have been particularly since we lost. But its early start time also left us no time the night before to do our annual bar crawl where we would rev up the patrons for the game the next day with school songs and fight songs. After the Homecoming parade, instead of staying for the pep rally afterwards, we were bussed to the stadium where we rehearsed until about 9:30 PM. Afterwards, we were invited up to the new skyboxes to have drinks and pizza. It turned out we were not the only ones there. And the others that were there looked like cheerleading alumni. Talk about “eye candy”. And many of them still had adorable faces and well-toned physiques. I so wanted to capture photos, but only managed one. It’s very hard to do so incognito when the flash wanted to go off. If we were outside in sunshine, I would have gotten a shot of everyone.

I finally left to walk back to the band building where my car was parked to head home. I think I got to the room around 12:30 AM. I was up at 5:30 AM to shower and get dressed. Then stopped at McDonald’s to get breakfast. I chowed that down, drove to the band building to find one of a few parking spaces left, then walked to the stadium. We rehearsed until about 9:00 AM. We then had breakfast lunch at 9:15 AM.

9:15 AM???!!!

Altgeld Hall

We then had a lot of time to spare before Pre-game, which is then when I decided to get some shots of both teams practicing. Pre-game came and went too fast. But the crowds were very enthused sympathetic to us Marching Illini Fossils out on the field and provided a great “roar” of support. Then it was THE Marching Illini’s turn. I have spoken of getting goose bumps before and as a watcher of the band this time, I was still overcome with them. Then came time to “please rise for the playing of our National Anthem conducted by the east stands by Marching Illini Director Emeritus, Gary Smith.” There is a song which ALWAYS gets me. It’s hard to sing it when one gets choked up. And then the last line was followed by a fly-over not by a jet, but by one of those large Army transport planes that carry tanks and vehicles. And it was flying so low that it almost seemed as though it was going to crash. The shadow that the plane projected on the field was amazing.

Halftime was another performance for us that included some dance routines that were incorporated toward the end that really got the crowd roaring. Oh, to do that in front of any of you would be total humiliation!

The Main Library. This library system is the largest public university system, second only to the private universities of Harvard and Yale.

The game ended around 3:00 PM. I debated over and over again whether I should drive back home. Many other alums were quick to get out and get back home. In the end, I decided to stay Saturday night which allowed me to get some nighttime photos of the buildings around the Quad area. I also wanted to go out to the gay bar Chester’s on Chester Street, but at about 9:30 PM, I was a bit overcome with exhaustion and laid low in and around the hotel area before finally settling in for the night.

Sunday I finally hit the road home at about 12:30 PM. As soon as I got home, it was off to the grocery store. After getting back, I finished my Adirondack chair with a second coat of paint. I hope to share a photo of that soon. The one thing I noticed after getting back from “Chambana” was that that community was barely expressing its Fall colors in comparison to back home. I took some Fall photos around town yesterday which I will probably share in the future.

But, I must close this post before the “reading time” of this post reaches 6 minutes an hour. Whew!

Sorry for so many pictures.

REMEMBER TO CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.

St. John’s Catholic Church next to Newman Hall where I resided for 4 of my 5 years.

St. John’s Catholic Church. I don’t like those new glass “business” doors they installed.

I think thr University needs to invest in bicycle racks. I have never seen so many bikes. Mom and Dad must have said “No” to a car at college.

The Main Library. This library system is the largest public university system, second only to the private universities of Harvard and Yale.

Foreign Languages Building on the Quad

Foellinger Auditorium on the south end of Quad

Altgeld Hall with its famous bells that play just about every song, including the them to The Flintstones. But it’s Westminster chimes are what are most memorable.

Altgeld Hall

Altgeld Hall built in Romanesque Architecture style

Altgeld Hall

Plaque about the Morrow Plots, the country’s oldest experimental crop field. This is also the reason whey the Undergraduate Library is underground.

Altgeld Hall

Look down into central atrium area of underground undregraduate library.

Carillion tower under construction in the “South” Quad

Undergraduate Library, which is underground.

Illini Union on north end of Quad

Interior of St. John’s Catholic Church

Interior of St. John’s

Krannert Art Museum. A terrible choice of architecture treatment where the whole wall is covered in brass with the hopes of achieving a wall covered in patina. It takes WAY TOO LONG to achieve the look. Perhaps in the year 2075?

Drumline alumni practicing before the parade

The “practive” court for Illini basketball team in the south endzone. This is where the Alumni Band was supposed to be seated during the game.

The new stands in the north endzone where the Marching Illini and Student “Block I” section is located.

Yours truly on the 50-yard line Friday night, striking the Chief’s pose.

Panoramic view of stadium from the new skyboxes Friday night

Could I be any whiter? That was a powerful flash.

The concenssion area just outside the skyboxes.

Yours truly in front of a refurrbished bass drum from the early 1900’s.

Altgeld Hall

BEFORE