10:39 AM -

WAG - Invoking the student Marching Mizzou Handbook

Oh how quickly the tides can change.

I remember my freshmen year in college when everyone laughed about the prospects of a bowl game for the Tigers. Our director, Herr... I mean Dr. Schallert, often reminded us to keep our winter schedules clear for a bowl game.

- Insert much rolling of eyes, heads shaken in disbelief, and various disparaging mutterings. -

It was in the buried in the back of the handbook, which was always passed out at the start of the season, that attendance at bowl games would most likely be required, depending on resources.

This was called an early warning.

A couple years later, some people who were in the band, yet not so thrilled on spending New Years in Shreveport, Louisiana, found themselves dragged to the Red River due to that clause in the handbook.

It was a shame, it was a bit funny, but however you looked at it, one had to admit we'd been warned.

This year, will the less than stellar perfomance by the football team, there was a second warning e-mailed to us today by the Marching Mizzou band director:

You may remember at the beginning of the season we briefly discussed our post-season options. There are a few bowl games that the Big 12 has alignments with that do not involve taking the entire marching band. These include the Fort Worth, Houston, and Champ Sports (formally the Tangerine) Bowls. While we may have dismissed the idea of playing in one of these games at the beginning of the season, it is looking like a real possibility now if we win our last two games. If MU is invited to any of these bowls, we will only take a pep band. If MU is invited to the Independence Bowl again, there is the possibility of taking the entire band. All other bowl games would involve the entire band. I wanted to make this clear at this point so that there is no confusion. This is not a decision made by MU athletics, but is a part of these bowl contracts. I was in a similar situation during my years at Georgia where we only took a pep band to the Oahu Bowl. Again, we must win both of our remaining games in order to remain in consideration for these bowls.

This is followed by a note of congratualtions from new MU chancellor Brady Deaton about our year and a reminder we will be recording a new Marching Mizzou cd this winter (we do this every year, though I haven't picked up the cd since my freshman year).

Though I am perturbed by that reminder, I can't help but shake my head thinking that, once again, we'd been warned.

Careful! We might go to a bowl game.
Careful! We might go to a bowl game, but not take everyone.

Always read ALL of the fine print.

I'm in one of the Mizzou pep bands this season, so I'm not sure whether or not it would apply to be. Granted, Mini Mizzou is the flagship band, but it only has 30 members (counting director, due to a change in NCAA rules a few years back). I'm not sure if members of the other pep-bands (Black and Gold, Point Mizzou, and Three Point Play - of which I'm a player) will be combined with Mini to make a super group. It might just be Mini. We still might score a bigger bowl. We might not get anything.

No matter what the end result is, now that my winter plans (which are no longer as wide open as I'd thought they'd be after last Saturday's loss) may end up including, I have this comfort.

I was warned once and then twice.

I hope I don't have to be warned again.

'fine_print____the_devil_is_in_the_details'

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