SMB Veteran's Day Salute

Shelly Madden's Facebook post for Veteran's Day salutes our veterans and also gives a capsule of an idea of how much thought and energy and practice went in to the Spartan Marching Band's halftime Veteran's Day Salute at last Saturday's Michigan State football game.

Here's what Shelly said about this remarkable performance: 

Happy Veterans' Day! Thank you veterans for your service. Photo from Saturday's MSU Spartan Marching Band's "Salute to Veterans" halftime show finale. Over 1,000 yards of fabric held by 64 hands (MSU Color Guard, and Big Ten Flags) and 50 - 4x4 stars held by 50 hands (MSU dance team, cheer, mascot and horn section). The vision of John Madden & Peter Eichler and execution of SMB Directors, staff, Saturday staff, and the team of 104 extra hands, the show finale was AMAZING!

And, in case you might have missed this, here's the link to the entire halftime performance, including the tear jerking unfolding of the giant flag.  Shelly Madden is the skilled videographer.

4 x 4 stars, as seen from the end zone during the halftime show

I'm pretty proud of Peter Eichler, director of the colorguard and our youngest son, for his big part in making this spectacle happen. Peter, along with John Madden, director of SMB, the staff, and many, many people in and and out of the band worked as a fantastic team to produce a stunning halftime.

Here's what Peter had to say about the show, again from Facebook:

'Team fab' had 32 props, 1,000 yards of fabric and 64 members of the SMB guard, big tens and horn line. 'Team star' had 50 members of the MSU spirit team (cheer, dance and mascot) along with SMB Saturday staff carrying 4'x 4' stars when they are normally catching their breath between halves. Combined with only a few rehearsals, these 104 MSU students turned out an amazing result! I'm proud to call this program my home!

rolling up the stripes after the half time show

A special thanks to Shelly Madden and to Peter for the photos, quotes, and video in this blog post. For those of us who watch from the screens of our computers, you have made the show come to life. We, along with you and the Spartan Marching Band, salute our nation's veterans on this special day in 2014.