For the Grizzly marching band, the Brawl of the Wild is as big of a deal for them as it is for the football team, and like the team, they are also bringing their best to the field.
125 students will suit up for Saturday’s game.
Josie Libby is a senior and has been in the band her entire college career
“Probably the biggest energy we see during our marching seasons super fun, I absolutely love it. We love the crowd energy being on the field from the pregame up until the end of it" It being down on the field from pre-game to the end, it’s a rush.”
The band has three shows at the ready—Saturday's game features Queen and a little Harry Styles. But aside from entertaining the stadium crowd, this is a chance to showcase the school.
“It's a huge exposure for us and shows what we’re doing in music at UM and I hope we’re good ambassadors for the community,"
said Dr. Kevin Griggs UM marching band director.
"We bring the party, it’s really fun. At the start of the game, we march around part of the University and march up to the ramp near the end. And the people set up for tailgates and such absolutely love it, we get to wave and high-5 as we're going by and seeing the little kids that are so excited to see us and we get to five -5 them and get to meet them on a personal level. It's really fun," said Josie Libby.
"People will say they wait 51 weeks for this one week. And these students, many of them being from Montana, they feel the same way. They're excited to see the game, they're excited to try to see the Griz win and they work hard to try to be a part of that atmosphere," said Griggs.
Drum Major Ben Debar says playing before a packed house can take your breath away.
"It's exhilarating. We get down there and out of the tunnel and start our pregame show. And I sort of look up while we're marching across the field and everyone's here and they're coming in for the beginning of the game. It's exciting to see everyone so riled up for the game."
