If you have ever attended a Florida Atlantic University football game, there is an electric atmosphere of hyped-up fans and players —  and a key part behind this energy is the Florida Atlantic Marching Owls. 

The man behind the magic is Marc Decker, the associate director of bands and an associate professor of music at FAU. He gave an inside look to the University Press on how the students in the Marching Owls band prepare for the football games each year. 

“They arrive on campus the week before school starts to learn fundamentals, stand tunes and drill formations for the pregame show,” said Decker. “Once the year begins they rehearse at least eight hours each week to learn the halftime shows.”

The band is made up of students from all different degree programs, years of study and ages. In order to get ready for the big day, several of the leadership members shared their pregame rituals.

One of them is Hailey McGann a senior at FAU majoring in commercial music composition and she serves as the head drum major. Her job is to keep time at the front of the band with a big stick called a “mace.”

McGann and the other drum majors have a tradition that they follow prior to games and during halftime.  

“We would huddle up and we would just jump around in a circle and rally each other up. Something that we did a lot is one of us would grab our phone, put it in the center of the ground, and then we would all hold hands and start spinning,” said McGann. “We would always have a pre-ritual stretch as well, that we started before every pregame and then before every halftime, we would just huddle up and dance and have fun.”

Zack Sullivan is a sophomore at FAU majoring in music education. He is the trombone captain for the band. His responsibilities are to lead small rehearsal groups for the trombones. 

Just like McGann, Sullivan enjoys spending time with other members of the band prior to game time.  

“We usually go out to eat before as a group or as a section. We also do some section bonding and chill before we perform before an audience,” said Sullivan.

Adriana Takvorian is a sophomore at FAU majoring in Music Education. She is the Assistant Quartermaster. Her position entails dealing with any problems relating to uniforms.

 Takvorian’s routine is designed to get her in the right headspace for the game 

“I usually have a playlist that I listen to so I can get in the mood, but I mainly try to hype myself up for the game.”

Patrick Bass is a Contributing Writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories email him at basspat001@yahoo.com or DM him on Instagram @datbassman.