Lincoln Southeast Band to the Rescue

SAN DIEGO - Bo Pelini and Mike Stoops addressed 1,700 fans attending the Holiday Bowl Kickoff Luncheon here Tuesday at the San Diego Convention Center.

The warm-up for the luncheon was a "Battle of the Bands" that fortunately didn't have to be canceled because the Lincoln Southeast High School Band stepped up to pinch hit for the Nebraska Cornhusker Marching Band. NU's band was unable to resolve the logistics of its six-bus trip to San Diego when a winter blizzard hit Nebraska and stifled ground transportation last week.

Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman gave his blessing for Southeast's 100-member band to substitute for the nearly 280-member Cornhusker Marching Band at Holiday Bowl events Tuesday and Wednesday. The Southeast band was already in San Diego, honoring a commitment to march in the Holiday Bowl Parade and to perform for three minutes as part of the bowl's Halftime Spectacular.

Southeast Band Director R.J. Metteer didn't have much time to put together a game plan. On Monday, he gave band members music for three traditional songs - "Hail Varsity", "There is No Place Like Nebraska" and "March of the Cornhuskers" - and after two hours of intense focus, they were playing all three with confidence, enthusiasm and the spirit that Nebraska fans are accustomed to.

Asked if he felt like David against Goliath when his band had to compete head-to-head against a seasoned college band three times larger, Metteer quipped: "Actually, I think David had a little better shot, but we're here, and we're excited to play for our fans and our state as best we can."

Let the record show that Husker fans were appreciative and effusive in their praise of an 11th-hour solution. "Those kids, I am so proud of them. I definitely think they held their own in the Battle of the Bands," said Anne Marie Rye, a senior captain on the Nebraska Cheer Squad. "We're so excited that they're going to help us at the Husker Huddle before the game and create a great atmosphere at the game. They did an amazing job today. They rock!"

Nebraska Spirit Squad Manager Marlon Lozano agreed. "They were wonderful, even outstanding, especially when you consider the circumstances," he said. "We appreciate Chancellor Perlman and the Holiday Bowl cutting through the politics so they could play. This is Nebraska. The band is part of the whole football experience. I'm glad they were already committed to the Holiday Bowl, and I'm glad they're from Lincoln."

Metteer is glad, too. But he sees the flip side to his band "bouncing off the walls with excitement" for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"This isn't our gig. It's the university's gig," he said. "I feel really sad for those kids in the University of Nebraska Band. We're glad we could pinch-hit, but they've worked all year for this chance, and we feel bad for them. Some of the members of that Nebraska Band were in our band the last few years, and we wish it could be their show."

After revamping his two-day itinerary at midnight Monday, Metteer admitted he didn't know what day it was in the whirlwind of activity. "There's an effort underway to bring some California-area NU Alumni band members to the Holiday Bowl game," he said. "I sure hope they can make it here and help out."

Meanwhile, Lincoln Southeast, which has its own band website, can now expand it. San Diego's CBS television affiliate did a major feature on a varsity band that for a few days anyway, became a Division I college band.

The Knights may not have the Huskers' traditional red-and-white uniforms, but they certainly represent the Blackshirts and shouldn't have any trouble mixing in Nebraska's favorite 2009 cheer into their musical salutes Wednesday night. It is, after all, only one word ... Suuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!