I’ve been to Mercedes-Benz Stadium twice. Once this past weekend...and once for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour.” More specifically, her Atlanta leg of the tour, night three, back in 2023. I think that concert made me more tired than any halftime MV performance ever has...
Atlanta was an absolute blast. Being able to kick off our season in one of the most architecturally savvy stadiums in the nation was an experience I and many other MVs will never forget. From the team walk, to pregame, to halftime, to the four exciting quarters of nonstop stand tunes, this was one of the coolest ways Band 52 could have started our year.
I started my Atlanta trip at the Waffle House on Main Street in Blacksburg. When I saw the itinerary and noticed how little time was allotted for food on our trip down south, I had decided the night prior that I would wake up and scrounge for the largest breakfast I could find.
The stadium we played in was absolutely gorgeous. Photo: Benjamin Gozzi
I about died laughing when I walked into the restaurant and saw half the restaurant being occupied by other MVs. Half of the tubas, led by Senior Staff Assistant Atlas Vernier, outfitted the bar area while various other marchers sat in booths. I found my seat at the bar adjacent to the VTubas and enjoyed one of the better All-Star Specials I’ve ever had.
The MVC always has a different air on big days. I know I personally take our beautiful marching grounds for granted at times, especially when we show up here every day at the same time, at the same place, for the same activity. Yet, on gamedays and travel days, there’s more excitement. That was the case on Saturday, and that same excitement only grew when a fleet of charter buses rolled up Chicken Hill at the close of rehearsal.
The bus ride down was punctuated by good conversation, good friends, and good rest stops. I liked the one in Atlanta that had a giant bulldog in the lobby, which threw my very tired self for a total loop when I first saw the statue. I also watched The Summer I Turned Pretty, which I’m sure bothered my bus partner and good friend Nick Louvet as I reacted to the ridiculousness of that show. If any of those reading this piece are firm members of Team Jeremiah...praying for you.
After finally arriving in Atlanta (I finished five episodes of “TSITP” on the way down), the energy was palpable as floods of marchers entered our hotel. And this hotel was nice. The water fixture leading to the elevators screamed opulence, and the rooms themselves were spacious and comfortable. I was with fellow saxophone section mates in the room, a room that saw us for all of five minutes before we hopped on a train and beelined it for food.
In our journey for something to eat under the Atlanta night sky, the saxophones that I traveled with eventually became a saxophone-trumpet-VT Drumline-horn mob of hungry MVs. Our sax group, after traversing through monorails, parts of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and metro rides, arrived at Alma Cocina in the heart of downtown Atlanta.
What made the dinner trip more memorable than expected weren’t my spicy shrimp tacos and heaping piles of appetizer nachos. Instead, it was the fact that, at the same time of the Aflac Kickoff Game weekend, “Dragon Con” was occurring. Unbeknownst to myself and other saxophones I traveled with, this event was a celebration of all things media and television over the course of one hot Atlanta weekend. “Dragon Con is the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction & fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe,” reads the website.
So, instead of what one may assume would be a casual Latin American dining experience, I was chowing down with Wario, Princess Zelda, and Ricky Bobby from the 2006 film “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” The entire dinner was an out-of-body experience of sorts, and there were borderline hallucinatory moments of the meal that made me think I was imagining everything happening to me. Such is not the case, though.
This group of Dragon Con attendees had asked for a photo, and I had to jump in. Photo: Joey Bachert, saxophone rank captain
The rest of our evening was largely uneventful, minus a lengthy return trip home that featured a pair of metro rides and a sleepiness that almost took hold while I sat on the train.
Like Saturday morning, the beginning of Sunday retained that same excitement factor that MVs always have on gameday. Soon after everyone was organized, we were whisked away to our buses and traveled to the team walk before entering the stadium.
IT WAS SO HOT. I was adorned with MV swag from head to toe, but that jacket is not conducive to 80-degree heat and unrelenting sun. Being able to photograph the team walk, however, made my temporary sweatiness worth it. I had never been so close to Virginia Tech football head coach Brent Pry and quarterback Kyron Drones, and seeing how amped the two were gave me faith heading into the contest (...bummer).
The only thing that made me worried about my success during the game was the fact that I didn’t have a credential. Yet, thanks to Dr. Polly’s quick action, I was soon able to secure my own...but not without its own story.
My last name has been butchered by those who do not know me for the better part of my life. Benjamin Gozzi, pronounced “Gah-zee,” has been mutilated into “Go-zee,” “Go-zye,” and on the most egregious occasions, “Got-see,” like we’re in Calabria with my ancestors saying “Piz-za.”
Never in my life has my name been misspelled, though. It’s always been two Zs, one O, all held together by a G and an I. When a missed exchange left my name off the credential list for Atlanta, the wonderful Dr. Polly rushed to print me a new one.
The result? Ben Goozi. Dr. Polly handed me the credential with the biggest laugh, the two of us equally dumbfounded yet amused by the mistake. Even as I type this blog, I still get a kick out of the whole thing seeing my first band credential marked so erroneously as it hangs above my nightstand. The legend of Ben Goozi, cameraman and media guy, was born in Georgia.
BEN GOOZI. Photo: Benjamin Gozzi
The game itself was an exciting one, although the on-field product left much to be desired. I enjoyed walking around with a camera and capturing the moments of the contest, focusing much of my attention on the MVs playing all around me. I tend to place more emphasis on the writing side of my multimedia endeavors, but being able to take the camera for a spin in environments like Atlanta has given me lots of real-world practice that I’ll forever be grateful for.
A mad dash back to the buses once the game concluded was the catalyst for a sleepy, dream-like journey back to Blacksburg. I tried my hardest to sleep (my aforementioned bus buddy Nick was out cold) but I tossed and turned throughout the ride home.
Finally, we arrived back in Blacksburg, and it took me all of two seconds to get home (the perks of not having a uniform to manage!). It was a trip I’ll never forget, one full of memories and great experiences, and I can’t wait to do it all again come Saturday against Vanderbilt.