The drum line is not simply another section in the band we are a family. For us to succeed we have to think and play like one person. We must throw out all of our individuality and perform as one unit. To accomplish this a strong bond must be formed between the players. When I first came to this band I met my section leader and the first thing he said to me was welcome to the percussion section, we're just one big happy family. This is why we are always together. The bond begins in band camp and continues until you're just a name on some marching band web page years from now.

Now you might be thinking, "Well that's all fine and dandy but what's with the pride thing?" As a freshman you're thrown in with a closeknit bunch of weirdos. This is a shocking transition for many. We then attempt to teach you all we know about marching. If you're good at something we want it better. If you're the best marcher in the band we ask why you're holding out on us. When I'm going on the feild just before a big show I think to myself I want absolute perfection, no excuses, no whining. Now that doesn't always happen. But, when your shooting for perfection you never sell yourself short. This is what we expect out of eveyone in the section. Just do it a little better, a little faster, a little crisper than the guy next to you. This is were the pride comes from; knowing that you did your best and the rest of the line did too.

With the pride comes the intensity. Intensity is a big part of any section. If you're not into what you're doing you will do it poorly. This goes double for the drum line. I wouldn't lie to you-those drums are damn heavy. I've got the bruises to prove it, and there are plenty of times when I would rather to be somewhere else. Now you may ask, "Then why the hell are you marching everywhere you go?" That my friends is the key to a good drum line. If you can be intense on the march to the practice field, then anything you do as a section will be that much better. In the end the best part of being in the drum line is knowing that the section completely nailed the show to the floor. And then the cadence starts up and you play that drum like nothing else in the world matters. The best memory I have of the drum line is finishing the last show of the year. We played the show better than it had never been done before, and we all knew it. Leaving the stadium that day our cadence became more than just music on a page. After we left the stadium we marched up and down the parking lot, with the home team's drum line on the side with their sticks raised in salute. They had to pry us away from our drums that day. That's what the drum line is all about!