CMU band members discuss performance at Ford Field
The Marching Chips perform at halftime during the Monday Night Football game between the Detroit Lions and New York Jets on Sept. 10. (Courtesy Photo | Marching Chips Twitter)
The Marching Chips, the Central Michigan marching band, performed at the Monday Night Football game at Ford Field Sept. 10.
In a game between the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets to open the season, the Chippewas got a chance to show off in front of more than 61,000 people in the sold-out crowd.
The most rewarding part is playing for people who may have never seen the Marching Chips before, drum major Brandon Wilk said.
"Performing on a stage like Ford Field and seeing how many CMU fans who made their way to see us do our thing — that meant the most to me," Wilk said.
The Marching Chips perform at halftime during the Monday Night Football game between the Detroit Lions and New York Jets on Sept. 10. (Courtesy Photo | Marching Chips - Tony McCrackin)
The Marching Chips performed at halftime. Though they didn't make the broadcast, many fans and alumni took to Twitter after the performance to congratulate them.
"The coolest thing was getting to play in front of a whole new group of fans," said drum major Taylor Huitema.
The Marching Chips performed a show based on Quentin Tarantino films with songs that included "Miserlou" and "Jungle Boogie" from the 1994 drama "Pulp Fiction."
Lions fullback Nick Bellore greeted the team after the performance. Bellore, a former Chippewa linebacker, has been in the NFL for seven years.
Drum major Brendan Wilk performs at halftime during the Monday Night Football game between the Detroit Lions and New York Jets on Sept. 10. (Courtesy Photo | Marching Chips - Tony McCrackin)
Because they did not have as much time as they normally do at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on campus, the Marching Chips performed a shorter set. After the performance, CMU was provided with a meal and got back on the bus to avoid the post-game traffic.
Traffic was one of the worries in Detroit on Monday, since the Lions had their first game of the season and former Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander returned to Detroit for a regular season game with the Houston Astros. Despite the traffic, the Marching Chips arrived in Mount Pleasant around midnight.
"The whole area was chaotic," Wilk said.
