Randy Shannon Ready to Strike Up the Band

Florida A&M plays UM this weekend -- and their bringing their tubas

Updated 5:00 PM EDT, Wed, Oct 7, 2009

Print Email Share TWITTER FACEBOOK

www.famu.edu/marching100

When the final whistle blows to end Miami's game against Florida A&M, Hurricanes coach Randy Shannon will hurry off the field.
And then he'll hurry right back out.

For many in the stands Saturday night, the matchup between No. 11 Miami and Florida A&M will serve only as a warm-up act. The best show may very well come from FAMU's fabled "Marching 100" band, which will perform for seven minutes at halftime, then hit the turf again for another 15-minute set postgame.

"I'll be watching it," said Shannon, who helped hatch the idea for the after-game festivities. "It's very rare that you get an opportunity to play a team like Florida A&M. And then you get a band to perform that everybody knows about. After enjoying a game and coaching in a game like that, you can't miss out on enjoying that band."

As soon as word spread that FAMU's band was playing postgame - it'll be a tribute to Michael Jackson - much of the Hurricanes' locker room starting buzzing.

"They make the average band look so subpar," said Miami cornerback Ryan Hill, a native of Tallahassee, where Florida A&M is based.

The band's name is a misnomer: There's actually more than 400 members.

The group was founded in 1892 and over the years, members of the Marching 100 have played at Super Bowls, the Olympics, the Grammy Awards, inaugurations - including President Barack Obama last January.

Shannon's memories of the Marching 100 go back more than 30 years.

He still recalls being in elementary school and watching parades that would bring huge sections of Miami to a complete halt before Florida A&M games at the Orange Bowl. Shannon saw countless people lining a long stretch of 7th Avenue, and those living around that route often would sit atop their roofs to watch the bands go past.

"Then you'd go down to the Orange Bowl, you'd get your ticket for $3 or $5 or something like that, see them play Tennessee State or Grambling or something like that," Shannon said. "They'd play the halftime show, it'd take an hour and it'd be great. Everyone loved it."

Apparently, everyone still does. That's why Miami - which has picked up the bill in past years for the band to play when the Hurricanes face the Rattlers - arranged for the postgame event.

"They have, what, 400 people and 44 tubas, something like that?" Hill said. "Every school has something that stands out. At FAMU, it's that band. They set the standard for every other marching band in the country."