Insider: Marching band part of Super Bowl experience

Tulane University Marching Band director Barry Spanier kept the band's schedule open during Super Bowl weekend just in case an opportunity would arise for the group of 86 musicians, color guards and dancers to perform. As he'd hoped, the band is booked for two events on Friday (Feb. 1) and Saturday (Feb.2).

“These events offer a fantastic opportunity for our students and the band program,” says Spanier, who might otherwise have accepted invitations to participate in Mardi Gras parades. “This puts us in front of tens of millions of viewers, and we get to represent the university to the entire nation.”

On Friday (Feb.1), the marching band will have an early start as the house band during a broadcast of "Fox & Friends" at the Morial Convention Center. The morning talk show, hosted by Gretchen Carlson, Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade, airs live on the Fox News Network from 5 a.m. until 8 a.m. Central time.

To meet their pre-sun call time, Spanier says he's made sure to arrange “breakfast with lots of coffee” when the students meet on campus at 3 a.m.

On Saturday (Feb. 2), the band takes center stage at Mardi Gras World during the "Super Bowl Tailgate Party and Celebrity Beach Bowl" sponsored by DirecTV.

Their performance is part of the pre-game entertainment lineup that will occur just before the celebrity flag football game begins. The event is free and open to the public.

“The students are really having a ball with all of this,” says Spanier. “They are emailing and Facebooking their friends and family.”

In addition to the Super Bowl gigs, the marching band will participate in the following Mardi Gras parades:

Feb. 8 — Krewe d'Etat
Feb. 10 — Krewe of Bacchus
Feb. 12 — Krewe of Rex

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