Marching Hundred performs in Colts game

A day after playing in Memorial Stadium, the Marching Hundred traveled to a bit of a bigger venue.

Playing in front of a crowd of more than 66,000 fans, the band became the first collegiate marching band to perform in Lucas Oil Stadium, the new home of the Indianapolis Colts.

The performance marked the fourth time the Colts have asked the band to play at a home football game. Bill Polian, president of the Colts, and a long-time fan of IU, personally asked the Marching Hundred to play. They gladly accepted.

David C. Woodley, director of the Marching Hundred, said he appreciated Polian’s offer to play on opening night at the new stadium.

“We were excited and honored for him to think of us,” Woodley said.

After being introduced to the crowd, the band rushed onto the field and played “Living on a Prayer.” Their selections involved a lot of movement and featured their percussion section.  

Although the band only performed for about five minutes, senior Jayme Kasting said she had a lot of fun at the game.

“It was very quick and brief, but very amazing,” she said.

Kasting added that she enjoyed playing for so many Hoosier faithful.

Fellow senior Lydia Karjaka, a tenor saxophone player, said each year she looks forward to playing at the Colts’ games, and the experience of running onto the field was special.

“The running really gave us chills,” she said. “Everyone went crazy and was screaming.”

Karjaka has played in front of huge crowds before, but she said she enjoyed watching the nervous and smiling faces of the rookies perform for their first time at such a big event.

Last year the Hoosier marching band played at another big event, the Insight Bowl, an experience Kasting said was memorable but didn’t have the same home-crowd feel as the Colts’ games.

Karjaka said the Insight Bowl was special because after the 14-year drought of not making a bowl game, the team came back to life.

“Seeing IU represented in that arena was amazing,” she said.

Having traveled to many different venues with the Marching Hundred, Woodley said the Colts’ new stadium had a different feel than most. He cited the seats being higher up and the lack of echo as an example.

The performance left a good impression on the staff of the Colts, including Craig Kelley, vice president of public relations.

“The band was very good (Sunday night),” he said. “It was a very good in-state component on the night our stadium held its first regular season game.”

Karjaka said she enjoyed telling kids back at school about the performance – she said many view band kids as nerds – and thinks the experience will leave a lasting impression on the band.

“It was five minutes that every band member can remember for the rest of their lives,” she said.