The Marching Scarlet Knights marched down Fifth Avenue in front of a crowd of 3.5 million—with another 27 million watching from the comfort of their couches—as they performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year.
For the 360 members of the band, it was a thrilling moment to show off the skills many have been working on since elementary school. The band prepared to wake hours before dawn to make the ride from New Brunswick to Manhattan and line up on the famous parade route somewhere between Snoopy and Santa Claus.
This marks the band’s first performance in the parade in the band’s 108-year history.
Todd Nichols, Director of University Bands, said the band was “beyond pumped,” for their Macy’s debut and ready to “show the country the amazing things they do.”
“I call it a bucket list event. It really is once in a lifetime,” said Nichols, who doubled the size of the band since taking the helm. “This is the first time ever: first for the school, first for the band, first for me. It’s really hard to put into words how much this means to me and our band family.”
Head over to Rutgers Today to get to know some of the band members, including Mason Gross students Amelia Ainbinder (drum major) and Joe Marta (sousaphone).
Image above: Rutgers marching band at Today Show; photo courtesy of Dave Haines/Rutgers University