Recap: Mayo Bowl

This blog was written by Sarah Bell and Evan Bainer, Marching with the Virginians blog staff.

The MVs had such an incredible start to the New Year by getting to perform at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl! Although there are some MVs that aren’t really fond of mayonnaise, we all had a wonderful time getting to support the Hokies, meeting members of the Pride of Minnesota marching band, and spending time together on our trip.  

Our adventure began on January 2nd, as we hopped on the buses and travelled down to North Carolina. After arriving in Charlotte, select members of the band and headed over to the common area outside of Truist for a “Battle of the Bands” with the University of Minnesota’s marching band! Each band played special tunes, along with each fight song for the schools. No need to worry, it was a very friendly competition, and both Minnesota and Tech fans had such a blast kicking off the cold, mayo-filled weekend.

(Photo: Bob White)

The next morning, the MVs were up bright and early to catch the buses on the way to rehearsal at the UNC Charlotte stadium! We want to give a HUGE shout out to Dr. Hunter Kopcynski, director of UNC Charlotte’s Pride of Niner Nation Marching Band, for allowing us the opportunity to rehearse on their field! Dr. Polly introduced us to him during our rehearsal, and told us that he was a proud MV alum. We practiced our music, ran through our drill, and worked out the logistics until we felt confident for that afternoon’s performance in front of Hokie and Minnesota fans!  

After rehearsal, the MVs grabbed an early dinner of everyone’s favorite Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, and then we were off to start getting dressed! We then hopped on the buses and made our way to the Bank of America stadium in downtown Charlotte. Before the game, we had enough time to get a drink of water, get up to walk around, and do anything that we needed to do prior to kickoff. Some of us got to meet members of Minnesota’s band, and we all shared our traditions, favorite stand tunes, and how much we all love being a part of the marching band.

(Photo: Bob White)

During our pregame performance, we were able to play various Hokie favorites such as Tech Triumph, VPI Victory March, and our arrangement of the classic tune Shenandoah.

The scoring started in the first quarter when Virginia Tech quarterback Collin Schlee ran in for a three-yard touchdown to put the Hokies up 7-0. The Golden Gophers would then score three touchdowns in the second quarter, and Virginia Tech kicker John Love would kick a 60-yard field goal right before the half, making the score 21-10 in favor of Minnesota.

We had the privilege of getting to play during halftime as well, and during our performance we showcased our Aranjuez show, along with our Metallica show. These were both crowd favorites along with MV alumni favorites, so we considered our performance to be fitting for the bowl game.  

After the halftime performance, the band headed back to its seats to support the Hokies for the second half of the game, even though the only scoring for the half was a fourth-quarter field goal from Minnesota, making the final score 24-10.

Although the Hokies lost to the University of Minnesota, the MVs had such a wonderful time getting to stay in Charlotte, spend time together, and perform in such a beautiful stadium. Our regular season is now over, but the MV Blog isn’t going anywhere! Stay tuned for more posts about the MVs and what we’re up to in a couple weeks.

Go Hokies! 

Part 2: Let's Go Bowling! - VT vs Tulane

Parading through Annapolis. Photo credit to Robert White.

On the second day of the bowl game, the MVs tackled two opponents: a morning parade and the big event, The Military Bowl!

Before the sun had even touched the D.C. skyline, the MVs were up, dressed, and on the buses. Once the band arrived at the parade start site, we quickly ate a delightful breakfast and warmed up. The 1.6-mile-long route took the band on a tour of Annapolis where countless bowl game attendees greeted the band in high spirits! During the parade, the MVs played our classic marching medleys of drum cadences, Hokie Pokie, and Tech Triumph. As the parade finished up, the MVs headed back to the buses for a quick snack. At this time, a few of the band’s senior members performed for the President’s Reception and Hokie Club Reception.

Kicking to victory! Photo credit to Robert White.

After a short break, the MVs were recharged and ready for the big game! Together, the band marched into the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and took our seats in Section H. As the clock counted down to the beginning of the season’s end a familiar song pierced the air. Known to every Hokie fan, “Enter Sandman” by Metallica rang through the stadium. Like an earthquake, the stadium began to shake as the fans and band began to jump. The cheers for the VT football team were the loudest all season as the team charged onto the field. The team took its place, and the game began!

Halftime at the Bowl! Photo credit to Robert White.

By the end of the second quarter, VT had a strong 17-10 start to Tulane. This was despite a return of the MVs’ season enemy: rain. Fortunately, the first half experienced only a slight drizzle which let up by halftime. For the Military Bowl, the MVs put on a selection of our Metallica show. This consisted of songs such as “Fade to Black,” “Wherever I May Roam,” and … “Enter Sandman”! The band played “Tech Triumph” off the field, and we returned to our seats to watch the Tulane performance.

Return of the rain! Photo credit to Robert White.

As the second half picked up, unfortunately, so did the rain. This did not stop the football team from driving into Tulane’s defense, and it did not stop the band from playing to the end. At the close of the game, and the 2023 season, Virginia Tech won 41-20. This was the first bowl game win for all current members of the MVs, and we marched from the stadium proud to be a part of Virginia Tech.

To all Hokie football fans, we will see you again in Lane Stadium on September 7th.

Part 1: Let's Go Bowling! - VT vs Tulane

So, we didn’t actually go bowling — we got to go to a bowl game with the Hokies! Our super awesome football team, working tirelessly throughout this last football season, made it to the 2023-2024 Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland. Naturally, they needed the assistance of the Marching Virginians.

So, off we went on our journey to win the bowl game!

Two peas in a pod! Photo credit to Robert White.

Our trip began with buses throughout Virginia picking up MVs. Since many Hokies are on a much-deserved winter break, most of the band wasn’t in Blacksburg. Lots of arrangements were made in order for each of us to make it to Washington, D.C., where we would stay during our trip.

Some of us flew, some of us drove ourselves, and a lot of us rode the bus. Nevertheless, each of the MVs were ready to win the bowl game against Tulane.

Last rehearsal with the MVs. Photo credit to Robert White.

Before the busses got to the hotel, we made a pit stop at McLean High School in McLean, Virginia. Here the Marching Virginians had a super quick break for pizza, and then it was off to the field to do one more run of our halftime show.

We prepared an abbreviated version of one of our favorite shows, Metallica, for the bowl game. This was a show that we had already performed in Lane Stadium, so it was less stressful than having to learn a whole new one during finals season! We ran through a couple fun stand tunes, the music for the show, and then put the show on the field. After a couple announcements from Dr. Polly and Chad, we were back onto the buses to drive to our hotel in Washington, D.C.!

Once we reached the beautiful Washington Hilton hotel, the MVs ventured down to one of the conference rooms to pick up their super cool swag! After picking up our swag, we hopped into bed very early. We had quite a big day ahead of us!

read Part 2 by Seth Boehringer for more of our Bowl Game recap!

January 11 correction: the captions previously attributed the photos to MV Online Content. The attributions have been changed to Robert White.