For any online shopper, eBay is where to find anything from the antique and out-of-print to the ordinary or bizarre. And at this present moment, among a patched quilt and an anthology of pagan and Wiccan spells, the U.Va. Pep Band is up for sale, and causing quite an electronic stir.
The Pep Band was posted last Sunday as item number 1789714160, and has since garnered 50 bids.
The highest bid at present goes to "studentbook" at the hefty sum of $229.26.
The ingenious move is part of the first-ever Pep Band Awareness Week.
Yesterday afternoon, a devoted group of four band members braved the drizzle and cold to hand out florescent flyers and talk to passing students about the new tradition. All week band members have been tabling the Lawn, chalking sidewalks, and wearing their vests, hats and T-shirts around Grounds.
"A lot of it's getting the word out there," third-year College student and Pep Band Director Adam Lorentson said. "There are a lot of misconceptions about us."
But another reason is that the Pep Band hasn't exactly been getting along with the U.Va. athletic department this season.
About a week before a scheduled performance, the Pep Band writes its own shows. Then the script is submitted to athletic department Assoc. Director Andrew Rader, who surveys it, makes cuts and returns it.
"Most of our jokes are cut," Lorentson said. "We couldn't address the drought problems, that was cut this week. We can't make fun of ourselves or anything University related."
The Clemson game featured a joke about Strom Thurmond that was approved by Rader, but many in the University community reacted negatively.
A few days later, the band was told it would no longer be performing the pregame show for the Oct. 19 game against University of North Carolina. It was the third time the Pep Band was told less than a week in advance they were not performing a pregame show.
"There is the impression that the University sanctions what we say," Lorentson said. But he thinks censorship has gone too far.
So, in the spirit of humor, the Pep Band's awareness week will culminate with a free show in the Amphitheater, today at 5 p.m., featuring jokes that the have been deleted from past shows.
"Hopefully it will be a good representation of what we can put out on the field," fourth-year College student Brian Rice said. "Like we were in the '70s and '80s."
The Pep Band has had a very interesting history.
"We aren't allowed to set foot in West Virginia," second-year College student Sara Bumgarner said -- the result of a joke about dumping nuclear waste.
They also can't perform in Maryland because of a joke involving a then-indicted governor. A joke about Elvis being dead managed to incense Tennessee.
Band members say humor is a vital part of the band. "It's the idea of a scramble band, we want to make it an enjoyable show."
A lucky bidder will "win" the Pep Band -- and enjoy an exclusive performance -- when the eBay auction ends on Sunday.
A group from Virginia Tech is determined to purchase the Pep Band and force them to play the Hokie Pokie according to a Web site devoted to the cause, www.bwmb.org. But although the highest bidder temporarily owns the band, they can't control what songs the band plays, Lorentson said.
And what if a music lover from California purchases the band?
Fourth-year College student Kristin Luery says with a smirk, 'They have to pay for shipping costs.'"
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