If you love college marching bands, you have obviously witnessed the greatness that is The Pride of West Virginia -- The Mountaineer Marching Band. This marching band, steeped in love and support from its community, has been around for ages (since 1901, to be exact). The Pride exhibits the epitome of tradition and passion for its community. The most passed-down tradition of The Pride would have to be its pre-game show. The same music and drill have been used for years with very minimal changes to preserve the tradition. It's the one show out of all that gets the fans hyped up and excited for each football game.
As most probably wouldn't know, the WVU Marching Band started out as an 8 member ROTC band directed by Walter Mestrezat. This band was exclusive to only the 8 ROTC members until 11 more people wanted to join and got rejected. So these 11 pledged to the fraternity Kappa Kappa Psi and created the Omicron chapter at WVU, making them a legitimate student organization and fueling their fire to create a new "rebel" band in response to their rejection. This band would go on to play halftime shows at football games until the two-band situation was settled. Eventually, the two became one and created what we now know as the Mountaineer Marching Band.
The pre-game show we know and love today wasn't started until the "modern era" of the band (1950's-1960's). Former director of the band, Budd Udell, is the mastermind behind the band's fight songs "Fight Mountaineers" and "Hail West Virginia," which are still played and loved to this day. These historic and revered fight songs are what start and finish the iconic pre-game show.
"Fight Mountaineers" is one of the two traditional fight songs of WVU athletics. It's the first one you hear when the band takes the field. It's also the one with the most recognizable formation. As the band plays, it sports the "Flying WV" down the field. Tagged onto the end of the song is a feature from an Appalachian song, "Good Old Mountain Dew," which the band calls "Mountain Dew" for short (you can guess what it's referencing there, and it's not the soda). At the end of this song is when the iconic initials of West Virginia University arise on the field.
In the middle of the show, the band plays two of the most iconic tunes ever to grace the WVU Band stage: "Simple Gifts" and "Country Roads."
The beloved circle-song, as "Simple Gifts" is called, is a classical tune originally composed by Joseph Brackett in 1848. It's an old Shaker song and has been used in many different arrangements and settings over the years. The Mountaineer Marching Band has been using an arrangement by Aaron Copland since 1973 when it was used in one of their halftime shows. It was excluded from pregame for one year by director Don Wilcox, but resurfaced by popular fan demand because of how much everyone loved it. The expanding circles have been a pre-game tradition ever since, and is one of the most photographed formations ever for the Mountaineer Marching Band.
"Country Roads" is obviously a fan favorite for many reasons. With it being the self-titled "state song," it is one of the most recognizable tunes that the Pride plays. It was released as a country hit from John Denver in 1971, and the band has been playing it since 1972 thanks to James "Doc" Miltenberger. This arrangement not only includes a majority of the beloved state song, "Country Roads," but it also includes samples from the true state song, "West Virginia Hills." Listen closely to find the melody floating in between the funky rhythms of the rest of the song! This arrangement is also accompanied by traditional "flower drill," which has been altered and changed in small amounts over the years but always incorporated in some way.
Of course, in between these two songs, the Pride plays its own rendition of The National Anthem and WVU's Alma Mater to pay tribute to country and university before kicking the football game off.
Ending the traditional show would not happen without a grand finale, and that's exactly what fans get with the last tune and second fight song, "Hail West Virginia." This song includes the ever-famous West Virginia state formation and the "Let's Go Mountaineers" cheer as that same state formation is inverted. This is truly a crowd favorite and an amazing way to end an iconic show.
At the end of the day, the WVU Marching Band pre-game show boils down to one word: TRADITION. It has held true throughout the years, and each director has held the traditions with pride and astonishment. Each member plays so that the members in the future can stand in their spots and say, "Wow, someone played this tune years ago and we still play it to honor our traditions and our values."
As the Pride of West Virginia's motto goes: every note, every step, every person, every time.
