Ladies and gentlemen, direct from Pasadena, the University of Wisconsin Marching Band:

And for those who wonder what marching at the Rose Bowl (which involves much more than the football game), read this excellent Los Angeles Times story. The grueling schedule in the story was what those of us in the band in the ’80s, dreamed about doing.

At the end of the annual UW Varsity Band Concert, director Michael Leckrone always said, “We never say goodbye, we’ll see you real soon,” including a reference to maybe Pasadena someday. Leckrone has been the UW Band director since 1969. In his first 24 years as band director (which included five years of me), the Badgers went to three bowl games, none of them Rose Bowls. Since the 1993 season, however, Leckrone and the band have gone to five Rose Bowls, and have gone to a bowl game every year since the 2001 season. To paraphrase John F. Kennedy, a rising football tide lifts all boats.