2 weeks Ago
Trending Topics Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Alyssa Johnson, the Journal Star's trending topics reporter, spent five years on the Cornhusker Marching Band Flagline. I can still feel the rush of entering Memorial Stadium as if it were yesterday.
The feeling of sweat dripping off my forehead and the sigh of relief after performing lingers. I can still remember the scarlet red lipstick that takes at least two makeup wipes and a shower to fully disappear. It’s been nine months since I last marched in Memorial Stadium on the Cornhusker Marching Band Flagline and only three since I crossed the stage and was handed my Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
After working as a news intern for a year at the Lincoln Journal Star, I officially became the trending topics reporter in May. I've always loved performing. From being a 3-year-old in dance classes to my four years on the color guard team at Lincoln Southeast High School.
As someone who was born and raised in Nebraska, I always knew how important Husker football was and I knew I wanted to be on the Nebraska field. Only 300 students can consider themselves a member of "The Pride of All Nebraska" each year, and only 32 can say they spin for the Cornhusker Marching Band Flagline. I was lucky enough to partake in the flagline for five years, including two in which I served on the leadership team.
For most Husker fans, the football season starts in August with tailgates and watch parties. However, for the flagline, the season starts in May with the first of two audition processes and a summer filled with practicing at home or with teammates. It was surreal seeing my name on the roster in 2019.
The hard work paid off and a whole new adventure was ahead of me. Life gets put on hold for band camp each August. It's a week of 13-hour days spent learning how to march the Cornhusker way, figuring out drill spots on the field and perfecting the pregame show.
It’s a week filled with teaching new members, forming everlasting friendships and preparing for the season ahead of us. On the final day, my personal favorite, thousands of marching band fans fill the stands for the Cornhusker Marching Band Exhibition. It’s our chance to show off our hard work to aspiring students, band parents, alumni and community members.
Alyssa Johnson, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Lincoln. These fans come solely for the opportunity to watch the marching band as we perform the pregame show for the first time and play snippets of the halftime music.
There’s also the highly anticipated "drill down" where band members follow rapid marching instruction in attempts to be the last person on the field (I’m proud to say that I took third place last year). When school starts, flagline members are up and heading to practice before most of the university. If you ask anyone who knows me, I’m the furthest from being a morning person, but the best part of starting a two-hour practice at 6:25 a.
m. was watching the sunrise outside of Memorial Stadium. The gameday hype begins on the eve of each game as small groups of band members perform throughout the city in Friday pep bands.
It’s a chance to relax while getting our Husker pride on as we chant the "Band Song" and "Hail Varsity" with fans traveling into Lincoln. Unlike most practices, our gameday rehearsals are open to the public six hours prior to kickoff. It’s our final two hours to shake off the nerves, warm up our bodies and get in the gameday mindset.
There’s just something more thrilling about these practices knowing that the next time we’ll be in Memorial Stadium, there will be 90,000 fans cheering us on. There’s no such thing as downtime on gamedays for the flagline. It’s straight from practice to eating a quick bite to doing our hair and makeup.
However, there is a moment of serenity when we’re putting on the sparkly scarlet and cream uniform, brushing on our bright red lipstick and putting in our dazzling ruby earrings. It’s as if we embody everything there is to be a Husker. As the words of the Nebraska fanfare say, there is no place like Nebraska, especially on a gameday.
And for the marching band, it’s electrifying. From the moment we step out of the Westbrook Music Building, fans are swarming the greenspace. In addition to performing, it’s the connections with fans that I’ll miss most.
Whether it was the gleaming eyes of a little girl as I handed her a sparkly bow to match ours, or the conversations with a fan reminiscing on their time at UNL. I loved seeing the fans jumping in glee as we paraded into the stadium and the hands pumping into the sky for “Go Huskers!” It wouldn’t be a Husker football game without the Pregame Spectacular. While the crowds are still bustling about in the stands, our hearts begin to beat faster waiting to leave the tunnels as we hear the drumline’s cadence.
There’s no time for thinking; it’s all muscle memory as our feet take the field. Our halftime performances are just as exciting as we perform a new show each game. Often, we are challenged learning the choreography and music in five days.
Other times we have about three weeks to put the show together. Win or lose, there were always fans who stuck around to cheer us on as we marched out of the stadium. There’s nothing quite like the exhaustion after finishing up a gameday, but I always look forward to being in Memorial Stadium again.
No matter the weather, we always stick together. Including my parents, who ended up with many sunburns or bundled up in blankets in the snow. The Cornhusker Marching Band was the place I met my best friends, fell in love with my now husband and lost my voice on a weekly basis screaming for the Huskers.
It’s where I felt most alive. Percussionist Matt Dohman performs during a routine at the UNL Cornhusker Marching Band’s annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium.
Relatives of a University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cornhusker Marching Band member hold up a poster in the stands after the band’s annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cornhusker Marching Band performs a routine on the field during their annual exhibition concert on Aug.
18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium. Alto saxophonist Gavin Addleman (third from left) celebrates with his bandmates after winning the Drill Down, a contest in which band members follow rapid marching instructions to try to be the last person on the field, during the Cornhusker Marching Band’s annual exhibition concert on Friday in Memorial Stadium at University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Cornhusker Marching Band flag line member Alyssa Johnson, who is a reporting intern at the Lincoln Journal Star, twirls with her team during a routine on the field at the annual exhibition concert on Aug.
18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium at University of Nebraska–Lincoln. UNL Cornhusker Marching Band cymbalist Davin Seeger recovers from a fall during a routine on the field during the band’s annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023 in Memorial Stadium.
Seeger, who appeared to be in good spirits after the blunder, said “(I’m feelin) better than I would have if I didn’t.” UNL Cornhusker Marching Band fans watch the Drill Down, a contest in which band members follow rapid marching instructions to try to be the last person on the field, during the band’s annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023 in Memorial Stadium.
Two members of the Cornhusker Marching Band flag line twirl during a routine on the field at the annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium. Members of the Cornhusker Marching Band applaud for their bandmates performing in the Drill Down, a contest in which members follow rapid marching instructions to try to be the last person on the field, during the annual exhibition concert on Aug.
18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium. Drum majors Vilynn Decker (left) and Madison van Opem dance on the sideline as the UNL Cornhusker Marching Band performs on the field during their annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium.
Alto saxophonist Gavin Addleman performs in the Drill Down, a contest in which band members follow rapid marching instructions to try to be the last person on the field, during the UNL Cornhusker Marching Band’s annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium. Addleman went on to win the competition.
David Sims (left) and his wife, Amy Cox, film their niece, Madysen Patire, after her performance in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cornhusker Marching Band’s annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023. The UNL Cornhusker Marching Band performs a routine on the field during their annual exhibition concert on Aug.
18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium. UNL Cornhusker Marching Band flag line member Nikki Duero (center) embraces Taygon Shaw (right) after the band’s annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium.
The UNL Cornhusker Marching Band’s feature baton twirler, Steffany Lien, strikes a pose on the field during the band’s annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium. University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cornhusker Marching Band Director Tony Falcone leads his band on the field during their annual exhibition concert on Aug.
18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium. UNL Cornhusker Marching Band cymbalists perform a routine on the field during the band’s annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7241 or [email protected] . On Twitter @ajohnson6170 Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Trending Topics Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
.
