The Pride of the Sunshine
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| The University of Florida Fightin' Gator Marching Band | |
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| School | University of Florida |
| Location | Gainesville, FL |
| Conference | SEC |
| Founded | 1914 |
| Director | John Watkins |
| Members | |
| Uniform | |
The University of Florida Fightin' Gator Marching Band (also known as The Pride of the Sunshine) plays at every home football game inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, also known as The Swamp. Founded in 1914, the Gator Band will play anything, anytime, anywhere.
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[edit] History
- The University of Florida Band was established in 1914 by director "Pug" Hamilton with the motto "We play anything, anytime, anywhere."
- The Women's Gym was used for the first rehearsals of the band and the first office was in Anderson Hall.
- In 1920 the first Jazz Band was established at the University of Florida.
- In 1931, the Alpha Eta chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi was established.
- The first woman in Gator Band was Sophie Mae Mitchell in 1948.
- 10 years later, the Beta Xi Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma was installed.
- In 1972, Gator Band was featured at the opening of Walt Disney World in Orlando, and in 1997, participates again for the 25th anniversary.
- "The Pride of the Sunshine" was coined by Dave Strickler.
- "The Biggest Boom in Dixie" is the Gator Band Bass Drum.
The Biggest Boom in Dixie
- The Voice of the Gator Band is Gerre Reynolds.
[edit] Commitment
[edit] Class
The University of Florida Marching Band is a one (1) credit class for either 1000 or 3000 level credit that meets Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday every week. Though it does not cost anything to join the band, you must have the appropriate shoes and gloves. Uniforms rental is free but you must purchase a dry cleaning card in order to check one out.
[edit] Gameday
Gameday begins for Gator Band at 8:00am, sharp. There is no 'ish' in Gator Band. After usually 2.5 hours of rehearsal, the full band is dismissed. At this time pep bands are sent to play for pep rallys and the service organizations, KKPsi and TBSigma, make preparations for the band. Depending on what time kickoff is, the band report time is one hour before kickoff around "the Gator." Gameday is a day-long commitment for members of the Gator Band.
[edit] Trips
The members of the Gator Band are fortunate that the opportunity is given to us to attend away games. For our rivalry games (FSU, UGA), the full band attends the game to support the team. For other games, a pep band is sent instead. Pep band members are decided upon by attendance, attitude and seniority. Not every member of the band is required to go on a pep band trip, but if you miss the bowl game, you will receive an Incomplete (I) for the course.
[edit] Tradition
[edit] Pregame
As soon as the field is clear we march into the Swamp from the entrance tunnel in our pregame block. We take the field opening to Gator Jaws, while the Voice of the Gator Band, Gerre Reynolds, announces our entrance.
Gator Band Entrance
From our Fanfare Block we play our Fanfare and take Orange and Blue down the field, then form our block "F." Starting "Men of Florida," we move into our ceremonial set, forming a 100 commemorating 100 years of Gator Football. From here we play Century Tower Chimes, our Alma Mater, and America's fight song.
UF Pregame to this point
Finishing the Star Spangled Banner, we play We Are the Boys March to enter into the spellout preset. Next we play Gimmie a 'G' while we spell out 'Gators.' Then we play Orange and Blue and Suwannee to take 'Gators' down the field into our UF tunnel for the team to exit from.
Second half of UF Pregame
[edit] In the Stands
In the stands, we play a large number of school songs. We play Gator Jaws, Gator Bait, and Gator Maximus on defense, and we play Let's Go Gators, Orange and Blue First Down, and Go Gators on offense. Songs like You Can Call Me Al are crowd favorites. Between each play, if the band isn't playing, then the drumline, better known as FDL (Florida Drumline), is usually playing a cadence.
[edit] Third Quarter
Perhaps the most well known tradition of the Gator Band is the playing of We are the Boys at the conclusion of every third quarter. Beginning with a short intro, the band sets the whole stadium into motion starting with the first words.
[edit] End of the Game
One of our newest traditions was started by our head coach Urban Meyer in 2005. After every game he walks over with the team and the team, band, and fans sing our Alma Mater and our fight song together and Urban Meyer shakes our director's hand.
Alma Mater and Orange and Blue
[edit] Kappa Kappa Psi
The Alpha Eta chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi has been providing service to the University of Florida band programs since 1931. The Alpha Eta brothers have issued, cleaned and organized the uniforms and are currently responsible for providing water during rehearsals. Since its installation, the Alpha Eta chapter has crossed over 950 members into the organizations, including women in recent years.
[edit] Tau Beta Sigma
The Beta Xi chapter of Tau Beta Sigma provides service to the Gator Bands, including the Pride of the Sunshine. The Beta Xi sisters currently help the UF marching band by preparing the practice field, serving Gatorade to band members during home games, and selling garment bags to help protect the marching band uniform. Hundreds of dedicated bandswomen have become sisters of the Beta Xi chapter since the chapter was installed in 1958. In the Spring of 2004, the first male sisters were initiated into the chapter. The sisters of Beta Xi have also extended an honorary invitation to dozens of outstanding individuals of the Gator Band, including previous directors and graduate students. In 1999, the chapter initiated Sophie Mae Mitchell, the first woman in the Pride of the Sunshine.
[edit] Songs
[edit] Cheerio
We are the Men of the Florida Band,
We bring you greetings from ol' Gator land.
We can play a melody, maybe even two or three,
We try to please every fan.
We have a spirit that's lasting and true
We play our music, especially for you
Play it sweet! Play it hot!
There ain't nothin' we ain't got!
We are the Florida Band, Yahoo!
[edit] Alma Mater
Florida, our Alma Mater,
thy glorious name we praise.
All thy loyal sons and daughters,
a joyous song shall raise.
Where palm and pine are blowing,
where southern seas are flowing,
Shine forth thy noble gothic walls,
thy lovely vine clad halls.
'Neath the Orange and Blue victorious,
our love shall never fail.
There's no other name so glorious,
all hail, Florida, hail!
[edit] Orange and Blue
Intro: (not currently in use)
On, brave old Florida,
Just keep on marching on your way!
On, brave old Florida,
And we will cheer you on your play!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
And as you march along,
We'll sing our vict'ry song anew!
With all your might
Go on and Fight, Gators, Fight!
For Dixie's rightly proud of you.
Chorus:
So give a cheer for the Orange and Blue,
Waving forever.
Forever Pride of old Florida,
May she droop never!
We'll sing a song for the flag today,
Cheer for the team at play!
On to the goal we'll fight our way for Florida!
[edit] Men of Florida
We're Men of Florida,
Men of Florida,
Down by the sea
We sing of Florida,
Sing of Florida,
In harmony
We cheer for Florida,
Cheer for Florida,
So merrily
We're men of Florida,
Mighty Florida,
All hail to thee!
Men of Florida was written by Henry Filmore for the University of Florida Bands.
[edit] We are the Boys
We are the Boys from ol' Florida,
F-L-O-R-I-D-A
Where the girls are the fairest,
The boys are the squarest,
Of any ol' state down our way Hey!
We are all strong for ol' Florida
Down where the ol' Gators play Go Gators!
In all kinds of weather we'll all stick together...
For F-L-O-R-I-D-A!
[edit] Suwannee
Suwannee, Suwannee,
How I love ya', How I love ya',
My dear old Suwannee
How I'd love to be,
Among the folks in...
D-I-X-I-Even though my mammy's
Waitin' for me, prayin' for me,
Down by the Suwannee
The folks up north will see me no more,
When I get to the Suwannee shore!
[edit] Under Construction
| Marching bands of the SEC |
|---|
| Million Dollar Band (Alabama) • Razorback Marching Band (Arkansas) • Auburn University Marching Band (Auburn) • The Pride of the Sunshine (Florida) • Redcoat Marching Band (Georgia) • Wildcat Marching Band (Kentucky) • LSU Tiger Marching Band (LSU) • Famous Maroon Band (Mississippi State) • The Pride of the South (Ole Miss) • Mighty Sound of the Southeast (South Carolina) • Pride of the Southland Band (Tennessee) • Spirit of Gold Marching Band (Vanderbilt) |
