FanHouse brings you full coverage of the 2009 NCAA Men's Frozen Four in Washington, D.C.One of the fun things about college sports is the presence of a pep band at virtually every game. Sometimes, you have two pep bands at tournament games. That can be a bit loud, but is generally better than none.
At the 2009 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, one of the teams will be represented by a band very familiar to sports fans in the Washington, D.C., area.
Underdog and ultimate Cinderella story Bemidji State has their own band, but the group has a scheduling conflict and can't work this weekend's games.
As Dan Steinberg of D.C. Sports Bog reports, the school found quite a suitable fill-in. The pep band from George Mason University will play for Bemidji State during Thursday's national semifinal against Miami University. It's fitting, given the obvious similarities between Bemidji State's run and that of George Mason's men's basketball team - which went to the Final Four - in 2006.
Apparently, a Bemidji State alum who works for the Washington Capitals helped hook them up with the George Mason band.
You know that drum line that's always outside (and inside) Caps games? Well, they're The Mean Green, also from Mason. So one thing led to another, and the Beavers' coaches got (alum) Rachel (Becker) involved in the band search, and she got in touch with the Mason folks, and now we have an irresistible story, with (GMU band leader Doc) Nix already schooling his charges about their fellow underdogs, and the Mason kids doing Bemidji research of their own.That's just awesome. Even better is that Nix tells Steinberg the band will play Bemidji State's fight song. I'm guessing Nix, who is known for dressing somewhat, um, loudly, will find a green suit he can wear for Thursday's game.
