Let me state the obvious: The NCAA Tournament is a massive event. There will be 67 games in 14 cities, hundreds of student-athletes, hundreds of thousands of fans, and one winner as he zigzags across the country for his month. But behind the scenes, and often off-screen, there are thousands of supporting cast members who make March Madness the best postseason in American sports. From the arena crew who prepare the building and keep it busy on game day to the team trainers who keep athletes in peak health for competition.
When the buzzer sounded at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on Friday, Yale’s August Mahoney jumped on the scorer’s table to celebrate the 13th-seeded Bulldogs’ victory over fourth-seeded Auburn and the Yale band. sang the fight song “Bulldog” with enthusiasm. It was after the game that many people learned the truth. The musicians who brought together the Ivy League champions and perhaps the greatest victory in school history were actually from the University of Idaho.
The call came to Idaho band director Spencer Martin on Selection Sunday. Yale had double-booked the band – the Bulldogs only qualified for the tournament thanks to their March Magic in the Ivy League Championship Game. They were asked to fill in as Idaho State was the host school for the Spokane tournament. “I had just gotten back from the Big Sky Tournament in Boise where I was supporting the team, so it was the perfect storm,” Martin told SB Nation. “I think we can,” he said.So I just reached out [the band]. There were 29 available. ”
Idaho State hasn’t been to the men’s NCAA Tournament in 34 years, and the women’s team has appeared in just three of the past 40 tournaments. For most of Vandal’s band, this was their only opportunity to see March Her Madness up close. Tenor saxophonist Misty Smith said, “I saw the email with the Google Doc and it said, ‘Here, sign up for this,’ and I thought, ‘Yes!'” I want to travel again. He loves traveling with the band. ”
The Vandals (or Vandogs, as they started calling themselves) memorized Yale’s fight song an hour before they boarded the bus to Spokane on game day. The rest of their repertoire consists of pumping their instruments like weights while shouting “swell up!” And singing the SpongeBob SquarePants theme during the opponent’s free throws was all about Idaho. “We’ve been secretly weaving in a lot of Vandal stuff, changing it to a bulldog, bowing, things like that,” Martin said.
Then the upset happened. Behind a huge comeback in which junior John Poulakidas scored 28 points, Yale defeated a potential championship favorite in Auburn. A desperate final possession gave the Tigers four chances to tie or win, but Yale won, earning the school’s second NCAA Tournament championship and the biggest upset in school history. “My first reaction was, this fight song should stop right away,” Martin said. It was just surreal. ” After the match, Yale head coach James Jones also acknowledged it. On the band’s impact on the game: “There’s nothing better than that atmosphere and having people there to cheer you on, and I couldn’t be more thankful for them than being a Bulldog fan.”
Asked if there were any plans for the school’s band to accompany them to the Sweet Sixteen if Yale beat San Diego State, Spencer said their residency would end in Spokane, adding, “That’s our goal. “It’s about winning, it’s not just about getting the team to the Sweet Sixteen.” I’m 16 years old, but I’m sending the Yale band to Sweet Sixteen so they can experience this too. ”
In the end, Yale couldn’t sustain the magic, losing 85-57 to last year’s national title runner-up Aztecs. But for Misty Smith and the rest of the Vandal Band, being made honorary Ivy Leaguers over the weekend was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. It’s just really fun. ”
