JANELLE STRAWSBURG
Staff Writer
Four seconds left. Down by one. Inbounds pass. The countdown echoes throughout the gym … four … he sprints up the court … three … splits the defense … two …. penetrates to the hoop … one … the ball releases from his finger tips … zero …. BUZZ …. nothing but net! The crowd goes wild, there is pandemonium, the student section storms the court the band bursts out in song.
Is this UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion? Not at all, it is Malibu, and this is the scene that will hopefully greet fans in Firestone Fieldhouse as Pepperdine attempts to get a Pep Band off the ground and into the stands for next spring.
Kevin Borzenski, Pepperdine Events Coordinator, is the driving force behind the creation of Pepperdine’s own student-run band. And although at the moment the band is nothing more than a thought, with Borzenski’s vision and the dedication of a dozen committed students, it should become a reality by next spring.
“The Pepperdine band isn’t much yet, but hopefully within the next couple of months we’ll be able to bring more people together and get on the same page,” Borzenski said. “Right now it’s a group of students who are interested in it, we’ve met a few times and hopefully it will start a tradition.”
Junior Allison Mericle is one of the students pioneering the push for a band. After meeting with other interested students for the first time at the beginning of the semester, Mericle, who has been playing the French horn for nearly 10 years, said she is thrilled about the prospect of bringing Pepperdine athletics to new heights.
“I originally thought that a pep band would be very beneficial to Pepperdine and to the school spirit,” Mericle said. “A pep band would be a great way to get things rolling in terms of student energy, and if I can devote the time to bring a band here hopefully others will too and we can create a new tradition here.”
A tradition that will usher in a more college feel to the Fieldhouse that often emanates an NBA atmosphere with lounging fans, social talk and computerized music.
“In the last couple of years we’ve had the jazz band, and they’re great, but for a college atmosphere that we want to create, a jazz band doesn’t really pump up the crowd too much,” Borzenski said. “We want to get the crowd fired up more and create a college atmosphere here.”
Junior Spencer Vaughn is excited about the possibilities a pep band could bring for Waves athletics.
“A pep band will increase fan participation, which leads to a bigger Fieldhouse, which means better recruits which means better teams, and I think that will help the school,” Vaughn said. “When you recruit basketball players they want to go to a big-time place so if you give them a tour of the school and you take them to a gym, and it fills up with a crazy student section, that will draw some players for us.”
The band would ideally be performing at all home events for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams, sporting the same uniforms that Willy the Wave wears, and eventually work its way up to a full band of 30 members. With only 12 on board at the moment, the band is looking for anyone and everyone to join its ranks.
“Anybody who plays an instrument should join the band,” Mericle said. “Because it is not a huge commitment, give what you want to it, we just want people involved in our athletic program. This is one of the best ways to give some school spirit.”
The first hurdle the band attempts to jump is re-writing the music to accompany the Pepperdine fight song.
“We want to modify the music to create more of a college song because right now it’s not the coolest song in the world although the lyrics are good,” Borzenski said. “We also want to play a few Beach Boys songs, as well as Wipeout, things that are typical of Malibu, so when visiting teams come over, they think ‘Oh yeah, of course they are playing the Beach Boys, it’s Pepperdine.’”
And perhaps with a pep band to give the student section a new tune and beat to follow, more than one dedicated Wave will be able to proudly bellow the ringing words, “ We’re gonna fight fight fight for Pepperdine!”
02-01-2007
