2014 Chris Janjic – “Once In A Lifetime” These photographs are copyright Chris Janjic and are used here by permission. They may not be used elsewhere without his permission. Justin Mertz gives final instructions to the Syracuse University Marching Band (SUMB) during practice on Wednesday at the Carrier Dome before before their performance at the Super Bowl on Sunday. SUMB was selected along with the Rutgers Marching Band to perform as a part of the Super Bowl XLVIII pregame show. “There was a lot of planning put into it,” Mertz said. He began coordingating with the Rutgers band director the moment they found out they would be playing togther, months before the actual performance date. Morgan Christopher Edwards, a senior aerospace engineering major, performs in the tuba line during practice in the Carrier Dome the week before the Super Bowl. Justin Mertz, left, and Rutgers veteran director of athletic bands Timothy Smith grin as they listen to their bands performing together for the first time on Sunday morning. “It’s so loud!” Mertz exclaimed. Natasha Olejar a senior marketing and retail management major, follows along with the Rutgers color guard at the practice field on Rutgers’ campus on Sunday morning. It was the first time the two bands played together on the morning of the Super Bowl. Meghan Sinisi, left, checks her phone as Natasha Olejar, Connorlynn Gaffney and Meghan Durling take a selfie at the back of their bus on the way to MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon. SUMB spent a majority of their day on buses, transporting from one stop to another on their way to MetLife Stadium. Shaun Kinney, a sophomore music major, waits to enter MetLife Stadium on Sunday evening. Members of the band are barely able to contain themselves during warm-ups outside of MetLife Stadium before the Super Bowl on Sunday evening. “They’re fired up,” Mertz said. Two U.S. Army Chinook helicopters pass over MetLife Stadium as a part of the military flyover during the Super Bowl pregame show on Sunday evening. The Syracuse University Marching Band performs in front more than 80,000 people at MetLife Stadium as a part of the Super Bowl pregame show. “This is easily the biggest performance that any of us will be in,” Mertz said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.” “I don’t want to leave,” Natasha Olejar cries after her performance with the Syracuse University Marching Band at the Super Bowl on Sunday night.