But marching band was only for football season. So when basketball season rolled around, there was no marching band. Instead we had what Earl Warnke, our band director, called “Iron Band.” It was called that because it was brass and drums only. No strings, and no woodwinds. Which meant no flutes. No clarinets. No oboes. And…no sax. But Iron Band looked fun, so my senior year I asked Mr. Warnke if I could play the cymbals. I mean, how hard could it be? He said yes, and it worked out well. I got in the games for free. I had a great time. And I don’t remember making any huge mistakes with the cymbals. (Yay!!)
Since it was about 50 years ago, I don’t remember much. But I have one very vivid memory. And I have to admit, I’m not sure this is a real memory. Maybe my mind has made it up sometime in the last 50 years. I really don't know. But this is the story as I remember it. Anybody who was in Iron Band in the winter of 1972-1973 is free to confirm, correct, or deny my account. Because like I said, I’m not 100% sure it’s correct. I sure hope it is, because it’s kinda fun.
The memory involves the National Anthem. Of course, we played it before every game. Nowadays, they normally have someone sing it, I think. But back then, we just played it, and the crowd sang along.
When the players were warming up, the countdown clock in the gym was on. As I remember it, when the clock hit zero, the buzzer sounded. I think today we normally wait until the buzzer goes off before we play the anthem. But that’s not how I remember it back then. Because I swear to God, Mr. Warnke started it while the clock was still going, and he tried to make it so when we played the last note, the buzzer sounded simultaneously. So it sounded like “And the home of the BUZZZZZZZ.”
Even better, at the beginning of the season, he started the anthem with about 1:15 left on the clock, because that’s about how long the anthem takes. But in my memory, each game he started it a bit later. Maybe 1:12. Then maybe1:08. You get the idea. For reference, Whitney Houston’s version, as well as Chris Stapleton’s, both clock in at right around 2 minutes.
But swear to God, by the end of the season he started the anthem at about 40 seconds. Which means we were really flying.
And I loved it. And the crowd loved it. It didn’t make the anthem mean any less. But it took it from a “performance showcase for someone” to an anthem that we appreciated. At least it did for me.
To this day, I feel like the anthem should be about a minute long. Any longer than about 1:20, and in my opinion you’re showboating, not singing. But hey, that’s just my opinion. To each his own.
And I am 100% sure I got that whole idea from Mr. Warnke. If I’m ever asked to sing the anthem anywhere (definitely unlikely) I’ll try to hit 1 minute.
But I probably won’t end it with a buzzer, like Mr. Warnke did. That would be way too cool for me.
