The band met for a pre-game rehearsal at Matthews, because JL is a trumpet-playing sadist and likes to ruin chops before they have a chance to entertain the crowds. Between the rehearsal and puck drop, most people went to get lunch; I stuck around in the nearly empty arena, sat directly in the center of the Doghouse, and meditated quietly for some time. When the start of the game was near, I got up to my old tricks again. (Specifically, those involving opaque water bottles and cranberry juice.) JL decided to rearrange the band with trumpets in the front row on the balcony! This is a super cool development. The trombones are behind us as usual, and everyone else is shifted up behind them, with JL standing in the center of the band and shouting out cues. It's better this way because (1) the brass dancing in the front is a lot more obvious and a better look than woodwinds doing the same; (2) JL is more visible and audible to nearly everyone; and (3) I wanted it like this. The only negatives are a couple of miscued songs by the sections up front -- the director being behind us might have something to do with that -- and the drumming is harder to make out from our position, important because trumpets carry the melody 9 out of 10 times.
The men's hockey team was utterly rolled by UVM. I can't blame the officials this time, though there were a couple of crappy calls on both sides. No, the Huskies looked like a peewee team with lazy play and numerous sloppy turnovers, and we were down 5-0 before a flurry of goals made it a 6-2 final score. I knew Witt would be pulled after he made a save at the end of the second and looked back to see if it had trickled in, demonstrating a total loss of confidence. Free shirts were given out (actually hockey-specific ones this time!) and the pep band was repeatedly denied their own, even after a couple of periods. Fans took extras as they left, and there were none left for us. The game laid me low, but this was somehow worse: as if the pep band is neither a part of the student body nor the hockey team's biggest fans, and that includes the Doghouse itself. That's disrespect, pure and simple. Claire and Iris also had the misfortune to attend this turd of a game.
Afterward, we decided to invite a few people over for drinks to forget what we'd seen. Nathan, Alaric, Brian B, Maddie, Sean, Ted, Sara, and Iris were present for some WiiU dickery. I won at the Luigi's Mansion minigame (no surprise there) and had a steady hand in the stupid chase minigame as well. We streamed part of the Oilers/Canucks game, but thankfully decided to switch it off before the tide turned against Edmonton. Those of us who were left took a shot, then took a shot at the No Cry playlist. Once again, the fifth or so video was way too much for me. I cried in the same exact place as last time -- I mean, really gut-wrenching, sobbing crying -- and felt cleansed when it was over. None of the remaining videos had a similar effect. Finally, Iris and I watched a bit of The Sopranos before passing out on the couch.
Quotes of the day:
"The discourse is just out of control." - Emily, re: pumpkin spice
"Ruble is just Rubinoff that went through Ellis Island." - Alaric
"I knew we would be getting sad-drunk, but..." - Alaric
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