66-Year-Old Goes Viral for Playing in LSU’s Band as a College Freshman

ESPN Screenshot

Video of a retired accountant living his dream of playing tuba for the Louisiana State University Tiger Marching Band has gone viral after he was featured by ESPN on social media.

As part of its “Random Fandom” segment, ESPN invited viewers to “meet Kent Broussard, who, at 66 years young went back to school to chase a dream that began in 1968.”

The report continued:

Now, the first time he watched LSU inside Tiger Stadium he was just nine years old. Life took him another way — a career, raising a family. But he had a dream: of joining the Golden Band From Tigerland. And five years ago, Kent picked up the tuba, he practiced, he trained, and yes, he enrolled in LSU, auditioned — he made the band!

Tonight, nearly six decades later…Kent Broussard, a 66-year-old freshman. Broussard making his dream come true. He took the field at half-time with the Golden Band From Tigerland. How great is that?

Saturday night’s game against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs was Broussard’s first game as an official band member.

Video of Broussard dancing on the stadium big screen was cheered by the crowd in Death Valley.

And observers watching from home saluted the 66-year-old musician as well:

Broussard told CBS News that he mentioned his dream deferred to his wife, Cheryl, who urged him to give it a go.

“At first I was like, ‘Do they have like a senior band?'” Cheryl said. “I mean, I wasn’t sure what he was exactly talking about. And it was the real band.”

LSU Marching Band director Simon Holoweiko told CBS News that Broussard made the cut because he excelled on the field and in the stands.

“No, there are no breaks when you come here,” Holoweiko said when asked if he gave Broussard any special consideration. “And we follow that process to get the best possible group we can.”

Kent is the oldest person in the band by 41 years, according to CBS News, and he urges anyone with a dream like his to go for it.

“Try it,” Kent said. “The only thing you can do is fail. Your only failure is not trying.”

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