University of Illinois - Illio Yearbook (Urbana Champaign, IL)

Page 22 text:

A ■ £«• 'V «•' ,' 'J : , - . . ' m 1 1 i ■ f f ' i r. I i t i » i y M , 0 f % v . '■■ :.- ■ X S « Marching lllini Contribute Sparks of Enjoyment ! i .• i i ' een halves of the Purdue v. Illinois football game, the Marching lllini, forming a treble clef in a mountain, play a score from the Sound of Music. Under the direction of Everett Kisinger, The Marching lllini thrill crowds of enthusi- astic football fans with their halftime per- formances. One hundred seventy-five men students from the Concert and First Regi- mental Bands and selected members of the Second Regimental Band are led onto the field in ILLINI formation by the drum major. Following this, Chief Illiniwek performs his well-known war dance, after which the band plays the Alma Mater. The Block I stunts are often coordinated with the band numbers. For a change of pace, the band plays one semi-classical or classical number every per- formance. This year, the Marching lllini performed at all Illinois home games and also went with the team to perform at Ohio State. The members practice forty to fifty forma- tions a year in order to give a unique per- formance.

Page 21 text:

Always Find Fun for All on a Football Weekend Each year throngs of spectators avidly witness perennial football games in Memo- rial Stadium. Glancing at the stands, one per- haps is bewildered by the many spectators wearing orange capes. These spectators are members of Block I, the largest card sec- tion of its kind in the university world. Through much intricate and tedious planning, patterns are developed by the members of the Block I committee. Chief Illini and the American Flag are just two of the many pat- terns that decorate the stadium on those fall football weekends. The bright array of dif- ferent colored cards, contrasted against a multitude of people is so characteristic at the games. The shining cards scintillating in the Saturday afternoon sunlight is truly a stun- ning spectacle in itself. The usual half-time festivities are an attraction that make going to a football game more than just watching the fighting Illini pugnaciously penetrate the opponent's line. Be that as it may, through a medium of colored cards, a message is con- veyed. This colorful message, sometimes pa- triotic— other times comical, is really only appreciated after one has seen it in operation. An annual event of the Illinois-Purdue game is the firing of a small can- non. The winning team keeps the Civil War replica as a traveling trophy. Rosemarie Reasor and Shirley Ross, Block- 1 co-ordinators, keep close contact with the West Block by telephone. The famous Block I card section i s pictured in operation. Looking at the East Block, the West Block realizes that it's an Indian they're forming.

Page 23 text:

■■ AmiJBH P ». Switching into another of their intricate patterns, the men of the Marching lllini depict a man stirring a kettle during half time at the Minnesota game. Forming the traditional drum major, the Marching lllini football band perform at the Northwestern-Illinois game. to Fall Saturdays Between Football Game Halves . V f. f • ■ f f - • I ■ f '; r. . i i r I • I » i 4fc.:. '....,., ...» 1? Opening their half time performance at the Purdue versus Illinois football game with the traditional lllini formation, the men of the Marching lllini football band sing their theme song. Many hours each week are spent in preparation for each of the half time ceremonies. 19