Game Day Traditions

Rehearsal
On football game days, we rehearse in Hornet Stadium to prepare for that evening’s show. Home games kick off at 6:05 pm during the fall. The band shows up for sectionals at noon. Then we form up to rehearse at 1 pm on the freshly painted field at the stadium. We usually rehearse until 3 pm. We then go back to the music building to eat dinner in which the band council b-b-q’s for the entire band. At 4:30, the band changes into our dashing uniforms.

Tailgating
An hour before kickoff, we troop from the music building to the stadium parking lot to pump up the spirit of the fans of the Green and Gold!!!! We usually play the Fight Song, some stands tunes, and sometimes some of our show music. Then we head into the stadium for our pregame show.

Pregame
Our pregame show is a high-energy show to get the crowd pumped up for the football game. We perform this show all year long. We run out to the field with a high energy cadence called “How Bout It??!!” When the cadence stops, we go into Generations Fanfare from the movie “Star Trek: Generations.” Our next selection is our production feature. In years past, the band has performed music from movies such as The Wizard of Oz and Rocky. We have also have performed music from John Williams including Liberty Fanfare and The Olympic Spirit in honor of Sacramento State hosting the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hornet Stadium. We then perform the national anthem. After the ‘Banner, we Rumble into a giant “S” or in years past “S-A-C” to play the Fight Song where everyone in the stadium stands and claps along. We then form a tunnel for the team to run through and play the fight song as they come out of the locker room.

In the Stands
After pregame and halftime, we troop off the field and into the stands to provide musical and vocal spirit to our football team. We have a wide variety of selections that we play during timeouts and in between plays. At all times, band members are to be vocal and supportive of the Hornets!!! Two of our favorite songs are Hang on Sloopy (always a crowd favorite) and of course Fight Hornet Fight!

First Downs
A new tradition that was started during the 2000 season. After our offense gets a new first down, we play the last four measures from the Rocky Fanfare. It is loud, it is raucous, and the crowd goes nuts over this short excerpt.

Halftime
We perform usually three different halftime shows a year. These shows are of a wide variety of music in our repertoire. The band performs classical, jazz, Broadway, rock, alternative, oldies, and contemporary. Mr. Edom, our band director, arranges all of our music and drill design. The shows generally have three selections in them. Hornet fans are very responsive and supportive of the band and always gives us a loud applause and cheer at the end. Check out some of our past halftime songs in the media section under “Sounds.” We then conclude our halftime show going back to the “S” and play the Fight Song.

Post Game Concert
Our post-game concert has become a big tradition over the last few years. When we originally started it, only a handful of people stuck around. Now we are averaging about 300-400 fans to stick around and listen. When the Hornets win the game (and we hope they win every game!!), the team comes over to the sidelines next to where the band sits and sings the Fight Song as we play it. Usually the crowd sings along as well in response to another Green and Gold victory. It is a way for the football team to come over and thank the band and the fans for being loyal to them. We then begin our concert that includes a stands tune or two and then we play our halftime show that we performed for that game. At the end the crowd gives and big applause for us. Finally after a long and tiring day, Mr. Edom concludes with comments from him on the day's performance and announcements.