Notre Dame - Rutgers
A member of the Rutgers band administration sent the following letter to a member of the Notre Dame Band administration. It was forwarded to some, if not all, current ND band members. As an ND alumnus it pleases me greatly that our current students and staff treat others with great respect and dignity.
There are a few times in my life when I've felt the shivers from experiencing and/or witnessing excellence going down my spine. Recording a choir at St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey were two of those times, so you will understand the league in which I place my experience, beginning to end, this past Saturday with you and your band, and the entire Notre Dame experience.
The excellence of your program is beyond anything I've seen in other away games, and that includes a childhood of going to years of Ivy League games in the 50's and 60's (I was born and raised and still live in Princeton, and my mother's family were alums of that school while 7 generations of my father's family went to Yale).
Your band is a superb musical ensemble, your graduate assistants remarkable for their graciousness in ensuring that the Rutgers band had a positive experience and our every need was cared for while not interfering with the traditions and needs of your "gameday" traditions. And the shivers I felt after we had finished our pre-game while I watched your pre-game march-on into the fanfare from the booth were incomparable to anything I've ever seen before, and that includes working for ABC NCAA TV in the fall of 1969 (the 100th Anniversary of college football) including the Oklahoma-Texas game at the Cotton Bowl.
There was a lump in my throat as I watched your drill, and incredible pride as I listened to your outstanding arrangement of "The Bells Must Ring." Thank you for hosting the Marching Scarlet Knights, thank you for showing us how it SHOULD be done (and is, week after week, at Notre Dame), and thank you for showing respect for our band after the game when I did not hear one single comment about the score by any member of your band, which is the opposite of what would have occurred at virtually any east coast school.
We have all come back from Notre Dame a better band, and better people, and that's saying a lot. I could tell you I was blown away by your stadium ushers outside before the game, but that would be an understatement. I was astonished. With my Rutgers hat, I was actually approached by several of them to welcome me to Notre Dame, and one who escorted me to the media entrance, inside of which were more friendly and welcoming people, up to and including the police security people who checked my bag. I found myself unable to speak as I attempted to thank them and say how honored I was (and WE Rutgers people were) to be here, and that, believe me, has never happened before at a stadium. The press box people and your stadium and band announcers and press box personnel were equally welcoming and helpful while being totally professional.
Bless you and your organization. May you have continued success in both your band and football programs. You may rest assured that I will be singing the praises of the Notre Dame way of celebrating this unique American game, invented at Rutgers 143 years ago, but clearly perfected in South Bend!
Thank you.