Nestled in by the ends of the stands of the roaring football stadium, there are several members of the Vandal Marching Band Color Guard, who wave their flags and dance to the music. While their moves are cohesive, precise and coordinated, a deeper story lies behind the black and gold uniforms.
Most people believe that the color guard is a fun opening to the game or a sigh of relief from a tense football game during half-time. What they don’t see is the hours of practice, the pulled muscles from missed catches and the countless hours of repeated moves to make it seem flawless under stadium lights.
Squad lead Carissa Quesnell, a 19-year-old journalism major from Yakima, Washington, sees the difference in the squad this year as night and day.
“There’s a lot more energy this year from [the guard],” Quesnell said. “We are not just on the field with them this year — we are a part of the marching band.”
She remembered the exhaustion from last year, when the guard was often working alone and struggling to keep up.
“I think the color guard had a different dynamic. We were so exhausted and we were so tired. It was really hard,” she said.
Jasmyne Bache, a 20-year-old accounting and economics major from Fort Hall, has also witnessed this shift as color guard’s only captain this year. She joined the guard her sophomore year and quickly found a sense of belonging within it.
“I think last year there was a lot more stress and tension,” said Bache. “The directors and the guard were a lot more separated. We were on our own for most of it.”
Bache stated that better communication and more meetings behind the scenes with the marching band directors have transformed the group into the best team she has ever worked with.
“I always try to remind the guard that I am not asking for perfection, I am asking them do their best and have fun,” she said.
Color guard isn’t just a performance, it’s determination through hours of trying to remember choreography, drilling counts in their mind and pushing through physical exhaustion until the timing is perfect.
If any other group put in this much effort of endurance, athleticism and artistry, they would be called athletes. Still, color guards rarely receive the same recognition. Fans leave for concessions during performances or barely glance up, never realizing the months of practice and preparation that goes into every performance.
Next time you see the swirling of black and gold flags within the marching band, don’t think they’re just another element to the performance, but proof that students are capable of blending determination, teamwork and artistry all into one. Behind every performance are students who deserve to be recognized.
If you have a story to tell and want to be in the next “Vandal Voice Column,” please email Andrea Roberts at [email protected].