The clock counts down from 23.6 seconds, the time of the Terriers’ last goal, and the final buzzer sounds. As Boston University hockey fans rise up for a victory cheer, a man dressed in a black suit turns his back on the ice and raises his hands.
With the first downbeat of the game’s last song, a group of 50 musicians plays fortissimo, pushing the tempo and swinging their instruments to the beat. The brass melody carries the BU Fight Song throughout the rink.
Just moments before, the band touted the fourth and final goal the Terriers scored against the goalless Northeastern University Huskies.
The stands roar in the make-shift Dog Pound at the TD Banknorth Garden. Conductor Chris Parks, a stout figure conspicuous in a sea of school colors, leads the group, dressed in khakis and striped scarlet polos, into a frenzy of music making and dancing, with his energized direction.
Neither tempo nor Terrier performance lags Monday night, as the men’s hockey team wins its Beanpot match-up against Northeastern, and the BU Pep Band keeps up the pace, coordinating the crowd in synchronized cheers.
The band pulls out the fan favorites, from ’80s pop hits to the short tunes that evoke audience response, including an infamous chant about Boston College.
“We play what the student section would call ‘censor’ ’em up,” College of Arts and Sciences sophomore and mellophone player Joe Langlitz says.
While most students will scramble to get tickets for next week’s battle against Boston College, some students already know where they’ll be sitting in the Garden. As an integral part of the BU hockey experience, the pep band already has its seats reserved.
HEAT OFF THE ICE
The Beanpot is not only a matchup for the hockey teams, but also for their biggest supporters.
The competing teams’ crowds are known to volley insults and challenge each other.
“Where’s your campus?” the Northeastern crowd shouts to BU fans.
“On the Charles,” they respond, syllables falling in cadence.
The bands feel the pressure of competition. As Chris Parks scribbles numbers corresponding with different songs on a dry erase board for the band, he hears the rival band pick up the tune he was about to play. He quickly erases and redirects the band.
At the whistle, as action on the ice stops, Parks hurries to direct his band before the other ensemble can get in a note.
Langlitz said BU surpasses the other Beanpot competitors, both on the ice and in the stands.
“I think BC has a really strong brass section, but for numbers and selection, they aren’t a crowd pleaser,” he said. “They are there for the musical aspect. We’re there for a good time and to interact with the students.
“Northeastern, their band is a good time, but not a pep band — more like a concert band — so they always have a hard time getting people to come. And then there’s Harvard,” he concluded.
The 50 pep band musicians who play at the Beanpot are the most dedicated of the group of 130. The game roster is determined based on performance at games for men’s and women’s hockey and basketball, Parks said.
“The kids who are there screaming and yelling at women’s hockey and basketball, those are the kids who are going to go to the Beanpot,” Parks said. “We want the kids that are proactive, not just good players. It’s easy to cheer at the BU versus BC hockey games. It’s not that easy at the women’s games when there’re only 20 or 30 people there.”
With up to five matches a week between the teams, the gig schedule can get hectic.
“I really like BU athletics in general and I like sports in general,” College of Communication senior and baritone section leader Becky Merrill said. “It’s really fun for me to go to these things and hang out with my friends.”
Merrill has yet to miss a game in her four years in the band, Parks said. Band president, saxophone player and Sargent senior Rachel Cloutier calls Merrill “the heart and soul of the band.”
SPECTATOR SONGS
Both love of the game and musical performance bring musicians to the pep band, Parks explained.
“Whether it’s women’s basketball or men’s hockey, we have some band members who are the biggest fans; they know all of the stats on the players and in general, we just have some really great sports fans and BU fans,” Parks said. “They have just chosen the band and music as an outlet to be great fans.”
“For the basketball teams, lots of times we’re the only people there cheering,” Merrill said. “There are no student sections at these games, so you feel like you’re more a part of the game and that you’re kind of needed, so those are fun.”
CAS sophomore and trombone player Mike Salem said he likes cheering at the men’s basketball games.
“I really wish some people would come out and support them because they’re really good this year and they have a shot and are doing some really incredible stuff,” he said. “Men’s basketball could really use your support because they could go places this year.
“A lot of people in pep band aren’t just doing it for the music but they are big sports fans,” he continued. “You want to see the guys win, you want to see the girls win, and you learn a lot about the teams.”
Langlitz said he believes the band makes a difference at the games they attend.
“I think this year the Beanpot is going to come down to how strong our student section can stay because our team has been struggling [in recent games].”
BAND’S ROLE IN THE STANDS
The band had to overcome some hard feelings before connecting with the student section, Parks said.
“When I first got here in fall of 2000, the student section hated the band. They used to turn their backs to the band.”
Parks said it took work, but the student section warmed to the band when they realized they were at the games for the same reason: to support Terrier athletics.
“We can never step on them,” Parks said. “They are the greatest fans in the planet, but the band members still want to feel special too.”
College of Engineering freshman Heather Macken expressed doubt about crowd-band antagonism.
“How could people hate the band?” she asked. “I love the band because they’re basically the cue for a lot of the cheering that goes on at the games.
“They help to keep everyone from just randomly trying to start those cheers that never end up making it through the audience,” he continued. You can’t really have sporting events without a pep band. They’re just something that’s supposed to be there.”
During games at Agganis, Parks said the band has to do something better than the arena disc jockey if it is playing cover songs. He strives to create a different type of atmosphere in which the crowd is encouraged to cheer.
“Before we had better sound systems, the band provided entertainment, and that’s not true anymore. AC/DC playing “Back in Black” over the loud speakers is going to sound a lot better than the pep band,” he said. “But anything that’s going to get [the crowd] clapping, chanting, singing is what we do, because the DJ up in the booth can create the concert feeling with tunes by the original artist.”
Parks said he hopes he has eliminated negative stigmas associated with being in the band: “I think we’ve built a really cool environment where it’s fun to be in the band. It’s cool to be in the band.”
“We seem to be the only band that has a lot of interaction with the students,” COM junior Matt Kurkowski said. “The band knows to play the BC chant and, in the third period, to play the tequila cheer.
“It’s not just a band and that we like them,” Kurkowski continued. “It’s the interaction and the fact that we can get involved with them.”
The band enjoys the crowd involvement, Merrill said.
“We really love BU sports and we get really excited when people cheer, ‘best band ever!'” she said, referring to a Monday night cheer. “We just want people to give us credit.”
Parks said that he does not “think there’s a better overall game day experience than what [the pep band] brings.”
THE BIG NIGHT
After months of weekly rehearsals, Parks says that the band does not prepare for the Beanpot differently than for other performances.
Still, the musicians are excited and think of the Beanpot as a “big deal.”
“Everybody wants to go, if not because of past experience, the upperclassmen tell them,” says Cloutier.
The band president is pleased with the crowd’s response and explains why everyone shows up to big game.
“It’s all about shoving your school spirit in the other team’s face.”