This blog is going to be about marching band. There̢۪s one good reason.

When asked what my blog was going to be tonight, I said something about KFSR̢۪s schedule being way too jazz-heavy.

“You don’t write about anything you like,â€Â said Heather Billings, The Collegian Online’s Assistant Webmaster.

That̢۪s not strictly true, but it̢۪s close enough. Unless one is carefully drafting a defense for something you̢۪re in favor of, it̢۪s a lot harder to write about something one likes.

I consider it a challenge to write about something I like. That̢۪s why I̢۪ve chosen to write about something unchallenging to write about.

I like marching band, and have since my four years at Gilroy High School. It started out as a way to get out of P.E. and developed into a love of free taco buffets every Saturday in the Fall season before finally blossoming into a profound love of the marching thrill.

There̢۪s really no rush like getting in and marching a shrill, fast and loud show. It̢۪s like Drum Corps International for students who don̢۪t want day-long, all-summer rehearsals.

The transcendental pleasure of being a part of something larger than oneself is, at times, overpowering. There̢۪s nothing like marching, blasting and laying it down. There̢۪s nothing like winning.

It̢۪s not bragging or anything, but I played in a season where my high school band blasted its way to becoming all-state division champions. That we played a Danny Elfman show only made it better.

It was at a Fresno State-hosted high school competition that I first considered even coming to Fresno for college. The Sierra Cup Classic back in 2003 featured the Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band performing a pirate-themed show that̢۪s still as incredible now as it was then.

After that, everything fell into place. Crippling senioritis and general apathy hit my senior year, so the only school I applied to was the then-cheap Fresno State. It paved the way to three years of glory as the loudest, brassiest, most out of tune second trombone player in the entire band.

In my three years, I’ve collected every band CD ever released, plus a few recordings that weren’t. Did you know that, counting both Santana shows, the Bulldog Marching Band has played at least six or seven Spanish shows since 1993?

I came back to the Sierra Cup Classic last Saturday as an alumnus and a volunteer. And while I may have made a few hundred dollars of raffle ticket sales, the most satisfying part of my day was watching the new show both times the band performed it.

I even posted Soundslides up in the multimedia section of The Collegian Online. Check them out.

I like the band a lot. Don̢۪t believe me? I even like it enough to hold off on KFSR. Now that̢۪s saying something.

In other news: rich colleges just getting richer; Fox News solicits uninformed opinions about the BCS; and college students twice as likely to gamble to excess.