The Brand: Welcome to Lubbock (Episode 4) | Aug. 24, 2024

[Music] well I've seen as far east to west from state to state I Rome H I played the grand old opery but it didn't feel like home so I stumbled in the blue light for a shot or two or three still got some love it left and man I set set a Blazer Trail chasing Down a Dream It's been drowning blood dust and mud and stuck between my teeth I keep learning earning every song I sing still got a whole lot of love it left in me still got a whole lot of love B left in me [Music] I am Ellie Brown your 63rd M riter being a part of the mass Rider program is such an honor there's so many people who have made this program so great and I'm just truly honored to be a part of Texas Tech in such a special way my interest for becoming the master writer started at a very early age so I started riding horses when I was 11 years old and it kind of just evolved from there and once getting involved in the mass Rider program at Tech I knew that's what I wanted to pursue the mass Rider program started in 1954 with Joel Kirk Bolton leading the team onto the field and it kind of just became the official mascot from there the flying red Horseman leads the Red Raiders from Texas Tech arm of the field it really has become I believe one of the primary symbols along with a double t uh that people think of when they think of Texas Tech University in the past since I've been here we've gone from the Maser making about 100 appearances a year to making 400 appearances on behalf of this University and that of course is an addition to running the team out uh at football games you know we have a lot of tryouts within the spirit program but the one for the mask Rider uh is the most lengthy and it's the probably the most thoroughly vetted student on this campus as far as getting that job we want to be very careful about who we choose because we know what an amazing and profound symbol they are to Texas Tech Ellie is just an extraordinary human being and uh she started off in our program as uh a feel safety Helper and those are the students and staff who are on the football field helping out with the safety of the horse when the horse runs and we really started noticing her then she's a good person with horses but she's a good person in the way that she represents Texas Tech so when she tried out last year to become the Mas Rider she already had in a lot of ways proven herself worthy of the position the training kind of started before you even really knew that you wanted to be the master riter it started at a young age riding and getting to be around horses and also just getting to be around people and talking to people and so there was a lot that went into it before arriving at Texas Tech but now being at Texas Tech it started as getting involved with uh the past Mass Rider Lauren Bloss and getting to be her assistant and just learning what the role requires from you and from the people around you taking care of Centennial Champion is an everyday task every day and multiple times a day so we go to sometimes multiple events a day I am there morning and night to feed clean take care of him give him a bath get them ready for whatever appearance we're going to so it's a time commitment for sure but the best time commitment I could ever make [Music] to get to represent a university is a dream come true for lack of better words it's so special to so many people and so the honor to get to be in this position is truly amazing okay that's on both Sidelines the bottom third of the number is 12st step that's a permanent reference point for everybody so when we do run on you're going to hit the bottom third of that number in 12 counts okay in this position would you go ahead and stretch out my name is Dr Joel Pagan I'm associate director of bands and director of athletic bands at Texas Tech University the process really starts um at the end of the spring semester around May is when we uh do some online music auditions for anybody interested in being in the going band and then the rest of the summer is setting up all of our halftime shows and getting the drill ready the music the arrangers the instructors everything all together and then the big part of it starts the first week of August where we have a a week of Summer band this is where we learn all of our pregame the first halftime show we teach all the new members all the tradition and uh this is where we get everything prepared for that for first football game look side to side side to side as you're crossing the double te look side to side got to have y'all y'all were awesome last week let's do it again let's do it again y'all are so awesome last week the going band from raiderland and the experience so first of all I am a huge fan of the band my favorite band song is March grandioso and I'm huge tuba fan our tuber players know that I tell them all the time and and mess with them whenever I'm around them and my tubas and my freaking tubas uh we got the best band in the country their enthusiasm their passion uh shows up on Saturdays I always want them to understand that they're a part of us and we're a part of them because we're in it together and they they do set a tone I mean when you bring everything together the mask Rider the student section the tortillas flying the band plan it creates a special atmosphere and that's why we're so tough to beat at home it's just not the team but it's everybody being there and and showing up and being loud it's one of the largest and old oldest student organizations on campus with a lot of history I mean going back to the ' 50s a lot of what we do on the field today is a nod to what the band did way back in in the 1950s that you know most people although they've probably seen this they never realized that everything we do on the field is symmetrical especially for halftime and there's a reason for that the band is actually split in half there's a band One band two with equal instrumentation on each side and this is something that was done back in the 50s so that no matter where you sat in the stadium you heard what the director at the time called the stereophonic sound so you heard a full Ensemble regardless of where you were on the field so that's something that most people don't realize so there's a lot of tradition that that we keep up every year uh and it's a nod again to the alumni that have done this for years past just like with any college band you know it's part of the pageantry you know you I don't think you can have football without without cheerleaders and spirit you can't have football without the band and so we we always feel that we're really important and integral part of even during just the game day uh the pregame festivities even the postgame um so it's something that I think is just synonymous with college football so so you you have to have the band you have to have the cheer and it really adds to the excitement to um to that game day experience everyone take this note we I've already said it we already know what leads you there elow but that means that your elbows actually have to like squeeze your rib cage throughout they have to get there as tight as it can just bringing your arms into this somewhat position doesn't work like will hit them low no it will hit like it has to go all the way down there our process for preparing for football season starts as soon as someone makes the team back in May we've been doing Zoom rehearsals with our rookies to get them up to speed on traditional Sidelines in-game traditions and anything that we could possibly think of to help get them ready for game day and then when they come back in August we'll hit the ground running with all things in game scenarios anything that might happen kind of that we cannot prepare for um just giving them all the situational cues and then working on our spacing on the field especially given the new End Zone let's go come on last time pay attention I think first and foremost we help uphold the traditions of Texas Tech University but also of our team we're coming up on 50 years for the Palm Squad here at Texas Tech so we take great pride in the tradition that that team itself has and then we think that we are entertainers too so we are there to Spirit raise and lead the crowd in the traditional things but we are also there to entertain the crowd via our Sidelines that are just pure Dancing and our in-game performances that kind of vary from game to game that was the kickoff the opening kickoff we do that first and second half opening kickoffs and then anytime we score then we kick off so that's when you do I was a cheerleader here at Texas Tech from 2003 to 2006 and love my time this is home and so I've always had a good place in my heart for Texas Tech and I'm so proud and honored to be a part of the traditions and um just the years of experience that I've gotten to work with all the athletes that I uh get to work with on the cheer squads as well as the [Music] mascots the cheerleaders are required to bring fan engagement and excitement for the game um we are here obviously to support the athletes on the field um but represent Texas Tech and be that um connection for the fans to engage with somebody on game day we always tell our athletes that you are the living breathing double te so we always want want to pull them into the game day atmosphere um by Leading the traditions and just promoting that Texas Tech Spirit from the time that we arrive each game day there's all sorts of situations that we'll just try to encourage and engage the fans as much as possible 3 4 5 7 8 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 a lot of work is put in outside of what the fans will see but it's always fun these uh cheerleaders are very devoted to Tech and devoted to their sport uh being the best that we can and we have high expectations um that we want to be the best in the country um to where that goes to for me for my job is to make sure that I have them prepared as much as possible for game days for the appearances we love to do it but we're going to do it at the highest level to represent the Double T [Music] obviously the band and the spirit organization we don't rehearse together we have our own separate routines and rehearsals uh we only have one opportunity to actually put together that whole pregame sequence that we see at home games one time and that usually happen several weeks before the first home game so um the very last day of our Summer band training which this year falls on Friday August 16th um we will get together for the first time on on the field with the entire Spirit group and the band group and we'll actually rehearse how that sequence is going to work out palm and where Spirit Palm's on that side of the hash and that side of the hash waiting for y'all to get set and then we'll move to the the we're on the sidelines still for Raider power then we move during okay so and so one thing that's unique for this year is because of this new South End Zone and the tunnels are not open um there's going to be some adjustments that we're going to be making and a couple of surprises that are thrown in there as well for for this year because we have a new South Zone we're going to be updating a few things with our pregame as well uh so that's the first opportunity we have to do this for the first time um which is when you think about it we do it one time several weeks and then the next time it happens is in front of a live crowd for the very first home game so that um that game day sequence is really important on that day our first onfield practice with all the entities that make game day successful is always a little um it's a little nerve-wracking I think for everyone even though each Squad knows their Duty and The Mask Rider knows her Duty and Rider red it's putting it all together and it's having you know about probably about 600 people on the field trying to make sure we know where to go when to go you know when the Palm Squad dances when the horse is going uh it is a lot it's a big puzzle and we worked very closely with the going band and the going band director to make make sure that we are all doing all the things we need to do to have that game day look that Athletics really wants us to have exhilarating it's honestly crazy and I get so emotional every time I'm back on the field especially being here for a 4th year and knowing like this is my last time getting to be on this field it's it's insane and with the new Endzone I'm like I'm so excited yes the new Endzone is so cool and it is so exciting even though this was just a rehearsal it still was so crazy to see all the work that goes behind and super excited to see it with all the crowd and everybody here so we just finished playing The Matador song we're going to March the double te downfield and then we hold it there something that's going to be different as you most of us know is the team is now going to be running out of that new South End Zone so there's going to be kind of a different setup for the for the band in palom and cheer and so we're incorporating kind of some new formations to help incorporate the band pom and cheer as part of that pageantry as they come running out so I think it'll be something really neat for the fans to see for the first time thank you Dad thank you Mom thank you Lord for here we go here we go listen up Hey listen up hey we got a standard to the way we practice we practice at a a certain standard out here let's go let's uphold that standard today let's dominate today here we go one two one two [Music] [Applause] [Music] there was a lot of good things that happened today John Carlos there was a lot of good things that happened today we are going in a right direction Lux we are good things are happening on both sides of the ball and we're getting better I mean that so let's learn from today let's take care of our bodies let's get back to our body weights tomorrow looks exactly like today then we have school on Thursday we got a walk through before school we got fast Friday we got dinner at the hotel Friday night we got a movie Friday night with a team we got a m game on Saturday we get to sign a bunch of autographs in our in our jerseys on Saturday for a bunch of our fans and then we go right into it's here right it's here [Music] [Applause]