Super Bowl XLIII: Bethune-Cookman Band to get 6 minutes of fame

DAYTONA BEACH -- Twenty-three minutes before kickoff Sunday at the Super Bowl, members of the Bethune-Cookman Marching Wildcats will be doing their thing. They get six minutes -- a performance condensed by about half -- to leave their mark on the celebrities and flashing bulbs at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium. Director Donovan Wells told the band it appears unlikely the show will be aired on NBC's pregame.

With NBC selling 30-second spots to advertisers for $3 million, even any exposure for this historically black university could be incalculable. Band members, though, were holding on to a four-letter word after practice. "Keep hope alive," Darius Hatcher said. "Maybe we'll get a clip," Kourtney Lewis added.



THE PREPARATION

Even still, Wells is sure the 320 musicians and dancers won't be star-struck. He's making sure with some 15 hours of practice in advance of the big six minutes. For about two hours Tuesday, band members played with precision, sprinted, marched and danced their routines over and over in search of perfection.

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