Orange Bowl performance goes unaired

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

As the clock slowly ticks down in the second quarter of the Orange Bowl, the intensity starts to grow among those seated in the restaurant.
Many are wearing red and royal blue, matching the jerseys of the Kansas players. But they aren’t there to root on the Jayhawks. Most of them don’t even care about the football game.
They are waiting for a glimpse, never mind how brief, of the San Marcos High School marching band as it performs during halftime.

As the seconds tick away and the half ends, a momentary camera shot shows crews setting up a stage for a ZZ Top performance. The broadcast cuts away to commercials.
Minutes drag by. Football analysts break down the first half. A teaser for the ZZ Top show runs. More commercials air. The long-bearded rockers finally hit the stage to muttered comments from the crowd.
“Who cares about ZZ Top, show us the band.”
More commercials run. A text message from a parent chaperone in the stadium comes through. They are on. Eternities drag by. Finally the commercials end and the camera shot reveals a scattering of football players standing on the field. Another text message confirms what everyone already knows.
“It was done in a flash,” it reads. “Don’t feel too bad, I couldn’t see too much or hear anything.”
“It was never a sure thing,” says Patty Berns-Golas, whose son Zane plays saxophone in the band. “At least we were here to support them and they know we are here. They really feel like they are representing Santa Barbara.”
As the store manager puts on an earlier performance of the band, the same show that earned them top prize in their division during a New Year’s Day competition in Miami, news starts trickling in from Florida.
“They called and said they did really well,” says Sue Renaud, the grandmother of Molly Richardson, a freshman drummer.
Another mother receives a text message from her daughter in response to her message asking how it felt to perform in such a huge venue.
“Horrifying.”
So in the end, those who came to the upper State Street McDonald’s in hopes of catching a glimpse of their sons, daughters, siblings or friends never saw their faces flash across the screen. But they knew it was never about that.
It was about the band members experiencing that feeling, however horrifying, of stepping out onto the grass in front of tens of thousands of fans and putting on a show.
“Everybody at our school is so proud of them,” Berns-Golas said.
“They’ve just progressed so much over the course of the time I’ve been away,” said recent San Marcos grad Michael Favuzzi, who helped out during the band’s summer preparations. “It’s been a great culmination for them to go to the Orange Bowl.”
Michael’s sister, Christina, is a freshman flutist in the band.
“She’s been really excited,” he said. “I’ve talked to her and she’s had nothing but good things to say about the trip.”
Even with the knowledge that the band likely wouldn’t get any airtime, family members, drama and vocal students, band alumni and community supporters filled virtually every seat in the restaurant. Befuddled customers had to fight their way through the crowd to fill up sodas.
“We all depend on each other,” said senior vocal student Connor Fatch. “We do things like tonight all the time, where we support each other.”
As the taped performance draws to an end, the restaurant is filled with cheers and applause.
“They have worked so hard to get here,” says David Holmes, chairman of the performing arts department. “It’s a big deal for the whole community that a local band is selected to perform at the Orange Bowl.”
As the supporters start to trickle out of the restaurant, Berns-Golas speculates about what the band members are doing. Probably loading up the semi-trailer with heavy equipment for the 2,800-mile, 48-hour journey back, she says, a truck piloted by two fiercely dedicated ex-band fathers.
The band members themselves, 59 strong including the color guard, will stick around in Florida for a few more days, enjoying a trip to the Everglades before setting off for Santa Barbara on Saturday afternoon.
And as they pull back into the San Marcos High School parking lot at 2 a.m. on Sunday, the electronic marquee will greet them with a message from their supporters.
“Just a very personal message,” Berns-Golas says.
It will mark the culmination of endless hours of practice and preparation at the direction of San Marcos alumni Dan Garske and Jason Nam. The end of their award-filled season, complete with a gold medal from the state championships.
The final performance of their field show, aptly titled “Journey of Dreams.”