On a field still damp from morning rain, with the wind bringing the temperature into the 50s, a family of about 330 stood at attention.
"You move at 32 at the beginning of ‘Sweet Caroline,'" said Jay Watkins, director of the Fightin' Gator Marching Band, speaking through a microphone plugged into a PA system. "The goal is to get the entire stadium to sing ‘Sweet Caroline.'"
This family is comprised of future engineers, teachers, doctors and more. Some of them had never marched before joining the band at UF.
Many of them are freshmen and sophomores still adapting to life in college.
Now, all of them have been invited to play at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
But on this day, no one talked about London. It was all about Homecoming's halftime show.
--
Despite a 4-4 season for the football team, Dori Pasik doesn't get fazed in the stands.
The 21-year-old chemical engineering senior is a section leader for the piccolos and a fourth-year band veteran. She's been to the National Championship, the Sugar Bowl and the Outback Bowl.
"I'm here to do a job," she said. "I'm a member of the Gator band, and my job is to play music and help uplift the team."
One of 22 grandchildren who all play instruments, she said even after three full seasons, the thrill of the pregame performance still gives her chills.
"You're running out onto the field, and all of a sudden, you're greeted by an eruption of people," she said.
The marching band's pregame routine always stirs up the crowd, but the halftime show is the band's main showcase.
Every game has a different batch of tunes tied together by a theme.
Saturday's karaoke show has come together over the past few weeks as students got half the music two weeks ago and the second half Monday.
The band had two outside rehearsals this week to lock in movements.
"That's like four hours of practice," said Emily Bumsted, 21, an event management senior and a trumpet section leader.
With a shorter window of time to practice, the parts need to come together quicker.
"We have to learn it, get in on the field, make it sound good, and then make it look good, too," she said. "There's a lot that goes into it."
--
The band recently received an official invitation from the Greater London Authority, the top administrative body of London, for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Watkins said the university is supporting the trip financially, and they are now looking for outside donors to help out.
"Whatever costs are not taken care of by the university or outside donors are going to have to be borne by the student performers," he said. "And we're trying to get those costs as low as possible."
Watkins and associate band director Chip Birkner said the band is excited but not overwhelmed by the honor.
"We've performed at the largest venue for athletic marching bands, and we've done it a few times," Birkner said, referring to the band's performances at the Gators' last two national championships.
"We're accustomed to big stages and big lights, but this is obviously an enormous honor."
--
The piccolos were Disney characters, the clarinets were mimes and the trumpets were Angry Birds characters.
The band has a yearly tradition of dressing up for the practice closest to Halloween, and Watkins judges a costume contest.
The Angry Birds won, with a live demonstration of gameplay - of course, with trumpets blaring the theme music in the background.
"As you can see, we're all a bunch of weirdos," Bumsted said.
Watkins said the creativity grows every year, and, more importantly, the sections remain close-knit.
"We want everybody to be part of that and have a sense that this is kind of their family structure while they're here," he said.
--
Many of the students at the outdoor rehearsal wore shirts they had made for their section - trumpets had white tank tops, trombones wore blue ones and saxophones had black T-shirts with the words "Hot and Dangerous" on the back.
The band huddled at one end of the long side of the field. The drum majors blew their whistles, lifted their arms and started slicing the air with their hands, setting the tempo.
Students held their horns up and marched.
Showtime.
The UF Fightin' Gator Marching Band performs in the stands at the football game against Georgia in Jacksonville on Saturday.
