What a fantastic performance by the Bulldog Band and Color Guard. The OBA contest, at Broken Arrow High School Tiger Stadium, was held on Saturday November 1st. The Bulldogs marched quite well in preliminaries, and Mr. Brooks drew the final spot for the Finals performance; setting the band up for a powerful finish to their competitive season.

The morning started with the Bulldog football team showing their appreciation to the band by meeting them at the high school with breakfast and a warm sendoff after their dominant win against Edmond North the night before. Then onto the buses for another 2 hour trip to Tulsa for the OBA Class 6A Contest. The kids put in a long day in what was unseasonably warm temperatures, the temp reached a high of almost 80 degrees. The band parents had done a great job (as usual) supporting the kids and making sure that every detail of their OBA experience had been carefully orchestrated. The prelims went very well and the kids harnessed their energy and put in their best program so far this season. All their hard work was about to pay off.

The stands were packed with Bulldog supporters for the Finals, and the energy was electric. As the band took the field the stands were buzzing with anticipation, and the crowd was in for a real treat. This was the best job the band and Color Guard had done all season and they were definitely taking Mrs. Feroli's advice and giving it their best individual effort. From my perspective on the field, this was the best the band had sounded and we could even hear the crowd reaction to this amazing show.

The kids seemed to really enjoy their performance and were excited as they left the field and settled into the stands to watch the exhibition performance by the University of Central Oklahoma Marching Band. As the kids took the field for the massing and announcement of final placements there was a huge amount of tension both in the stands and on the field, as displayed by the nervous laughter of the bands as they awaited their fate. As the announcements were being made we were all hoping for a respectable finish. Then they announced the placement for Edmond Santa Fe we all took a collective deep breath as they hesitated after the word "Edmond" and let out a huge sigh of relief knowing we had bested the only other Edmond band in the final. As each place was announced we all got more and more excited knowing that this was uncharted territory for the Memorial band. Between 3rd and 4th place they announced the category placements, and as expected Broken Arrow took all three categories. Then back to the business at hand.... "And finishing in 3rd place... Edmond Memorial" the kids went nuts, the parents went nuts, the staff went nuts. Apparently this was the best OBA finish by Memorial (or any other Edmond band for that matter) in the past 20 years. 2nd place went to Union by only a half point margin and in 1st place was Broken Arrow.

By the time we all got back the buses for the business of packing up this event, the enthusiasm had built to an incredible crescendo and the drum line helped the team celebrate with a series of high energy, enthusiastic performances to the crowd of band members, families, staff and supporters. What an incredible finish to a great marching season. Congratulations to the Seniors, and what an exciting way to finish their high school marching careers. Now let's figure out how to take 2nd place next year... :-)

Enjoy this video of the Finals performance.