EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ—As New Jersey prepares for its first Super Bowl, the Rutgers University Marching Band is set to perform alongside another college band for a TV audience of millions.
The joint performance by the marching bands of Syracuse and Rutgers will take place around 6pm, shortly Superbowl XLVIII kicks off in East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium.
Tim Smith, director of the marching band at Rutgers, has stated that audiences will receive something different from the usual halftime performances.
Smith mentioned that “I can’t let the cat out of the bag, but its definitely going to be heavy New Jersey with a sprinkle of New York mixed in.”
Justin Mertz, the Director of the Syracuse Marching Band, pointed out several difficulties with coordinating the two bands over such great distances. Both bands have been practicing seperately until recently.
The performance at the Super Bowl this weekend will be the first time that the two bands to work together directly.
Regardless, the National Football League describe Syracuse and Rutgers as having “two of the finest marching bands in the New Jersey and New York regions”.
Rutgers and Syracuse will join other collegiate marching bands that have performed at Super Bowls in recent years, including the Southern University Marching Band (XLVII), the Florida A&M Marching Band (XLIV) and the United States Marine Corps Band (XLI).
The performance is the most recent in a line of high-profile gigs for the Rutgers band. In November, the marching band performed at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in New York City.
Award-winning, multimedia journalist with experience in digital first and print-media. Daniel has covered local, state and regional issues, and utilized photography, social media and has written in-depth articles to produce high-quality work.
