From Broad Street to 34th Street
Temple Owls brought Cherry and White energy to New York City as the only band representing Pennsylvania, marking a historic milestone during the Diamond Marching Band’s 100th anniversary year, which included an appearance on The Today Show.
The band practices on Nov. 24 during an open rehearsal sponsored by WRTI before leaving for New York City.
Temple University senior Jeffrey Fountain admits the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade snuck up on him.
“It’s been on my mind since last August, basically in the back of my mind for two seasons, but it still came up faster than I expected,” said Fountain, a music education major in his fifth year at Temple who serves as one of the drum majors in the Diamond Marching Band. “We’ve been working for so long and had a full season on top of preparing for Macy’s. Suddenly it was November, and it really hit me that we would be going to New York City.”
The Diamond Marching Band’s debut appearance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade last week coincided with the band’s 100th anniversary. The 99th edition of the parade featured 34 gigantic balloons, 28 floats, 11 marching bands, 33 clown crews, nine performance groups and four “balloonicles,” or vehicle-powered balloons and marked a record-breaking 34.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock.
“I know I speak for the entire university community when I say we are so proud of our students who make up the Diamond Marching Band,” said President Fry. “I commend Dr. Matthew Brunner’s leadership in reaching this milestone, which was made even more significant as it came during the band’s 100th anniversary year. On a national stage, our students showcased their talents, inviting millions across the country to share in this moment of pride. It was truly a remarkable day to be a Temple Owl.”
Robert Stroker, the Joslyn G. Ewart Dean of the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts, visited the band during their open rehearsal on Nov. 24 before they left for New York City to share his well wishes and congratulations, and emphasized the band’s appearance on a national stage.
“The Diamond Marching Band is the fullest expression of the Temple spirit, full of energy and pride,” said Stroker. “We’re all so incredibly proud of their hard work and dedication. With 3.5 million people along the parade route and another 34.3 million watching from home, they represented Temple with their characteristic excellence on a massive stage.”
Years in the making
When Brunner submitted the band’s application, he included footage of their popular Barbie movie performance from the fall 2023 season. He learned they had been accepted in April 2024, but Macy’s policies required waiting until August to officially announce the news so the students’ reactions could be captured.
Ollie Gomez, tenor saxophone player and section leader and part of the social and video team, was involved in the group that produced the video that accompanied the application.
“It was really incredible to be part of the process and do my own small part that led to this big moment,” said Gomez, a media studies and production major.
Temple was one of 11 bands selected out of 200 applicants and the only band from Pennsylvania.
“This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Brunner said. “Every band director wants to be in the Macy’s parade. It is so iconic and so few get to do it. This is such a milestone, and I’m so pleased our students were able to have this opportunity.”
“This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Brunner said. “Every band director wants to be in the Macy’s parade. It is so iconic and so few get to do it. This is such a milestone, and I’m so pleased our students were able to have this opportunity.”
Students load the buses before departing for New York City.
Students load the buses before departing for New York City.
The Diamond Marching Band was also invited to perform on The Today Show the day before Thanksgiving. Their appearance featured three live performances—including a full studio takeover and a rendition of “Fly Eagles Fly,” a surprise for co-host and Eagles fan, Savannah Guthrie.
Showtime
Thanksgiving Day began with a 2:50 a.m. call time and 3:20 a.m. rehearsal for the band to practice marching into the performance area, the iconic star in front of Macy’s Herald Square store, and running through the routine.
Once the parade began, the band stepped off for the 2.5-mile-long route behind the Spider-Man balloon, starting on the Upper West Side at 77th Street and Central Park West and ending with a performance at Macy’s Herald Square flagship store in Midtown.
Fountain notes the band’s high standards were key to their performance.
“Attention to detail was incredibly important to us,” he said. “We put our pedal to the metal all season. It wasn’t just to go to Macy’s, but to go and do it well. Everyone knew this was bigger than any one person in the band and put so much hard work in to represent the university, city and state at the highest levels.”
“Attention to detail was incredibly important to us,” he said. “We put our pedal to the metal all season. It wasn’t just to go to Macy’s, but to go and do it well. Everyone knew this was bigger than any one person in the band and put so much hard work in to represent the university, city and state at the highest levels.”
Determining what to play is a big decision as the band must skillfully manage their tempo, or timing of the music, and space within the performance area.
“We knew one of the reasons Macy’s selected us is because we play current and popular music, so I knew I wanted to play something that really showcased what we’re known for and what we can do,” said Brunner.
He went back and forth on ideas but acknowledged none were “hitting the way I wanted them to.”
Finally, he woke up at 3 a.m. one morning with inspiration.
“It hit me—‘Love From the Other Side’ by Fall Out Boy was it,” he said. “We played it in 2023, and the students loved it. The timing and energy of the song was perfect for what we wanted to do. On top of that was the name—‘Love From the Other Side’—with us from the City of Brotherly Love is how I came up with that. I started putting the show together, and we started rehearsing early in the season to get everyone ready.”
It turns out that Brunner’s instincts were right.
Included among the nearly 35 million viewers who tuned into the parade was Fall Out Boy, who publicly thanked the Diamond Marching Band for their tribute and performance by sharing video of it to their social media channels.
Along the route, the band performed Golden from KPop Demon Hunters, Friends in Low Places, Jingle Bell Rock and Temple songs such as Go Owls and Fight Temple Fight.
Along the route, the band performed Golden from KPop Demon Hunters, Friends in Low Places, Jingle Bell Rock and Temple songs such as Go Owls and Fight Temple Fight.
After playing “Love From the Other Side,” the band exited the performance space playing “T for Temple U.”
Senior Carlton Smith, drumline captain, noted that practicing the marching was just as important as mastering the music.
“The step sizes were larger and moving fast, so we had to keep rehearsing those movements so it would become muscle memory to keep our lines straight and end up in the right places,” said Smith, a math and computer science double major.
Many family members and friends made the trip to line the streets of the parade route to cheer on the Owls, including Gomez’s family.
“My family was at 52nd Street, and when I saw my mom in the crowd, I started sobbing,” said Gomez. “It was a moment that felt so real with everybody watching us. It’s a dream for a marching band to be in this parade, and to be there celebrating during our 100 years was magical.”
Smith echoes the sentiment.
“The whole route was packed with people, and the energy they brought made everything feel so real,” he said.
“I’m hopeful everyone is as proud of this band as I am,” said Brunner. “What they did was no small feat. To go there and make the impact that they made is outstanding. We had such a big presence there, with people seeing Temple throughout the city all day. I often tell them, ‘People aren’t going to remember what you did or what you played, but they’ll remember how you made them feel.’ People are feeling very good about Temple right now.”
As for when the Diamond Marching Band will perform in the next parade, the Owls will not be eligible to reapply until 2030 at the earliest per Macy’s application guidelines.
For now, the parade marked the perfect capstone for Fountain’s five-year career with the Diamond Marching Band.
“What better way to end my marching band experience,” he said. “To work as hard as we did and to have performed as well as we did—few things in my life have been as validating as this experience. This is such a high to go out on.”
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