WEST LAFAYETTE - Eight area Purdue students were selected for membership in the 2009 Purdue All-American Marching Band.
They will be integral in the Football Saturday hoopla surrounding Danny Hope's first year as the Boilermakers' head football coach.
The area students in the band include: Jeffrey Greig, Bryan Sparlin, Jason Sparlin, all of Leesburg; Layne Carrington, Milford; Samantha Carney, Nappanee; Shane Hinkle, North Webster; Adam DeLucenay, Syracuse; and Matthew Rudkin, Warsaw.With seven home games on the schedule and a trip to the University of Michigan game Nov. 11, the season will be a busy one.
Coinciding with Coach Hope's first year, the Big Ten has mandated an across-the-conference change that will give pregame festivities a new look. All 11 conference universities have been asked to have the football players on the field for the band's playing of "The National Anthem." At Purdue, the anthem is paired with a unique Purdue tradition - the reading of "I Am An American," a short patriotic reading that calls upon everyone in the stadium to shout out "I Am An American" at its conclusion.
The Big Ten mandate ensures, for the first time, that coaches and players will be involved in the emotional and patriotic moments surrounding "The National Anthem."
All the iconic images that Purdue fans love in the pregame show - the Boilermaker Locomotive, the Floating Purdue and the 102-year-old "Block P" formation "will be there but the order has been completely changed and we're making it even more exciting," said Max Jones, assistant marching band director. Everything, including the Jumbotron's "Fire Up" video and the team's entrance, leads up to "The National Anthem."
The focus of the Purdue Band's 2009 halftime shows range from a "Thriller" of a tribute to Michael Jackson to a show featuring hit tunes by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine.
For more information on the All-American Marching Band, ensembles and events at Purdue bands and orchestras, visit www.purdue.edu/bands
