I am a marching band wonk. I conceded this long ago, and have written about marching bands several times. I played in a high school marching band, before I got to the varsity football team, and I was distinctive in that I like to believe I played the loudest clarinet in the history of American high school marching bands.

But back to the topic at hand.

College football fans see No. 3 USC at No. 8 Ohio State and salivate over the matchup. As well they should.

I look at USC at Ohio State and salivate over the matchup … and get almost giddy at the matchup of the bands. Two of the top five or so bands in the world, and arguably two of the three most recognizable.

I am going to go into some depth on this, with links to music, etc., and if you are remotely as interested in this as I am, keep reading.

While in Paris for five weeks (this sounds pretentious, I know, but that’s where I was), we met a friend and my sister and brother in law for dinner at a famous (and stunningly inexpensive) Algerian couscous restaurant, in the 10th arrondisement, and on the way there we traveled down a street named “Sambre et Meuse.”

I know just enough about French military music to believe I recognized “Sambre et Meuse” as more than just two rivers near France’s northern borders, but also as the title of a French marching song. After we stuffed ourselves with couscous and lamb (once the sun was down, and the Ramadan-observing patrons began to eat) … I got back to the apartment and did a search for “Sambre et Meuse” … and found that yes, it is a French martial song, dating to the early 1870s — or just after France got its butt kicked by Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War. Maybe the French needed some bucking up.

Hence, the creation of Le Regiment de Sambre et Meuse, first a poem, then set to music.

I read the brief entry, then saw the reference to how it is sometimes played at American college football games, then clicked on the audio that is built into the wikipedia link (above; go ahead and play it; it’s a hoot) and voila! I know that tune!

Turns out it is the tune that the Ohio State marching band plays while doing its famous “script Ohio” maneuver before football games. One of the great spectacles in college football. And if you haven’t seen it, or need reminding, watch it here on youtube.

The script Ohio is known for its dramatic “dotting of the I” by a tuba player, who struts out to the top of the I and makes an enormous bow to the crowd. I love-love-love this. And that tune is, yes, Le Regiment de Sambre et Meuse.

Ohio State’s band modestly calls itself TBDBITL — an acronym for The Best Damn Band in the Land — and, frankly, I am not going to argue the point. The Buckeyes have all the ingredients. A huge band, musically proficient, loud as hell, great marchers (note how crisp all their movements are), spiffy uniforms, white spats (very important), and some wonderful traditions as well as a great playbook. (Ohio State’s fight song, “Across the Field” — hear it here — is quite catchy, and familiar.) Among the traditions are appearances at pep rallies, the night before, at which (among other things) the band sings and then plays “Eternal Father Strong to Save” — a great naval hymn that got to Ohio State lords-knows-how, but is such a highlight that youtube has several versions of it posted by OSU students.

(Ohio State’s band also sings at the end of the script Ohio, if you didn’t notice. I love bands that sing. So grandly retro.)

Ohio State’s band has at least one other tradition of note, its entrance onto the field. Again, fans and bandsmen love it so much, numerous versions of it appear on youtube, and here is one.

Note, please, how geeked up the band geeks are! And it’s not just the band feeding on its own energy, it’s the fans at Ohio State waiting in anticipation of the band.  I love the trumpet players bumping knuckles and jumping around … and the percussion section going out first … and then the cut back to the drum major, waiting at the top of the ramp to make his grand entrance. This is great stuff.

USC doesn’t have quite as much going on as does Ohio State, but the Spirit of Troy (as the band, et al, is known), is a worthy competitor. The playing field would be evened, a bit, at Columbus, Saturday, if USC sent the whole band (as it does to Notre Dame road games) and not just a fraction.

I like that USC has a visual shtick — the ancient Greek-style helmets and a drum major with a sword and breastplate. Note, also, the USC marches in the style of Midwest bands, using the “chop step”, which connotes energy (and makes it more difficult to play your instrument). Another tradition is the whole band wearing sunglasses, even at night. It strikes at the dignity of the band, but it’s a SoCal touch, so it fits.

Among USC’s traditions are marching out of the Coliseum’s famous tunnel and one of the greatest arrangements of the national anthem ever imagined. (Strangely, I can’t find a really good youtube version of this; here is one from before the last Rose Bowl, but it’s hard to follow the music, especially when the fireworks are set off.)

And here is a version of their pregame show, from the 2005 BCS title game. It shows the band filling the field while playing “Tribute to Troy,” that sort of menacing riff that to me says “USC is here to crush you” to opponents … and then morphs into “Fight On” — the best-known fight song on the West Coast — continues with “Tusk”, a USC band staple, and finishes with “Conquest,” the third member of the USC official band trinity. Please note the high-stepping band members.

Anyway, yes, these are two of the greatest college marching bands. Michigan is up there with them, and I suppose Notre Dame has to be in the discussion. Perhaps Wisconsin, as well.

I hope TV lets us see/hear some of the bands, on TV on Saturday. Bands are a very big part of the college football experience, and TV’s insistence on running commercials while the bands play, or letting their talking heads drone on … does a disservice to fans seeking to enjoy the whole college football experience.

I envy those who will be at Ohio State on Saturday. And I’m talking about the bands, not just the football game.