Michael Stewart expects to feel a mix of emotions as he leads Tennessee’s band inside Ohio Stadium on Saturday night.
Stewart has been the director of Tennessee’s marching band, the “Pride of the Southland,” for 18 years. Before that, however, Stewart was a Buckeye, performing in The Best Damn Band in the Land for five years as a trombone player before becoming a graduate assistant director for TBDBITL. The Sidney, Ohio, native spent 10 years at Ohio State, earning bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from OSU, and still holds great fondness for his alma mater.
He never thought the day would come that he’d be in Ohio Stadium rooting for a team other than Ohio State. But he’s thrilled to have the opportunity to return to his old stomping grounds as the Volunteers play the Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
“I don't know that I'll truly be able to comprehend it until I get into Ohio Stadium and it really hits,” Stewart told Eleven Warriors. “I never thought we'd see this day, quite honestly. And then to do it in a playoff scenario in December in Ohio Stadium is so unique.”
Ohio State and Tennessee’s marching bands are both widely considered to be among the nation’s best, and Stewart says his time at Ohio State prepared him well for the opportunity to lead the band in Knoxville. There are some differences between the bands; while TBDBITL has 228 music-playing members, the Pride of the Southland has 415, though only 100 will be making the trip to Columbus due to the CFP limiting visiting-team ticket allotments to 3,500. What Stewart says is similar at both schools, though, is the passion both fanbases have for their teams and the support they provide to the marching bands.
“Having to perform in front of over 100,000 people on national TV every week, the pressure that comes with that of having to put on a different show for a large fan base on a weekly basis, and it's very similar to what I walked into here at Tennessee,” Stewart said of how Ohio State prepared him for his role at Tennessee. “Ohio State prepared me for that as well as I could have ever asked.”
Tennessee’s band, known as the Pride of the Southland, performing at Tennessee’s game against Alabama this season. (Photo: Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
The Tennessee band won’t be playing a halftime show at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, but they’ll be playing from the stands to support their team throughout the game. He said the energy TBDBITL provides throughout Ohio State games is something he’s tried to emulate at Tennessee.
“I think fans will see that this coming Saturday, especially when we're on defense,” Stewart said. “I mean, we play every play. Every single play, we've got the horn up to our face. And I think that's something I brought over from Ohio State is we were constantly into the game.”
Stewart says he’ll also have the opportunity to conduct the national anthem played by Ohio State’s band before the game, which he expects to be a highlight of the night.
“I haven't been in front of that band since I left, so to be able to conduct the national anthem I think will be perhaps the most special moment for me on that day,” Stewart said.
Stewart’s wife is also a former member of the Ohio State band and both of them still have family in Ohio, so he expects to have a large contingent of relatives in attendance at Saturday night’s game. Having grown up in a household of Buckeye fans, Stewart says many of his family members are conflicted about what to wear and who to root for on Saturday night.
Despite the love he still has for Ohio State, though, Stewart will be cheering for the Volunteers to upset the Buckeyes.
“I've been asked a lot about who do I want to win. And I've told them, look, I love Ohio State. I've loved everything that they've given to me and everything I've learned. The truth is, Tennessee pays the mortgage, and that's the band I'm conducting,” Stewart said. “So that's the team I'm rooting for. So it really is a mixed bag of emotions.”
