{"id":12496,"date":"2024-02-03T11:54:01","date_gmt":"2024-02-03T16:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=12496"},"modified":"2024-02-19T15:03:29","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T20:03:29","slug":"philadelphia-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=12496","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once the announcer declared, \u201cPlease welcome<\/span> the Eagles drumline!\u201d the crowd at Lincoln<\/span> Financial Field roared, and a procession of about 30<\/span> drumline members sprang into motion in the end zone.<\/span> Swaying from side to side and skillfully banging their<\/span> drumsticks, the snare drum players set the tempo as the tenor drummers added flair to the rhythmic pattern. The<\/span> cymbalists twisted their bodies to the beat, and amped up<\/span> the crowd with loud clashes. The line of bass drummers<\/span> moved their hips as they kept the drumline\u2019s beat. Among<\/span> the bass drummers was Mylin Batipps \u201915. He moved in<\/span> unison and flashed a big smile during the three-minute<\/span> routine, one of the many he\u2019s played since joining the<\/span> official Philadelphia Eagles drumline in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a rainy Sunday afternoon in November, but that<\/span> didn\u2019t stop the Philadelphia Eagles from scoring a win<\/span> against the Buffalo Bills \u2014 nor did it stop the drumline<\/span> from keeping the team and fans in high spirits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Batipps describes the experience of playing at Eagles<\/span> home games as \u201chigh energy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the energy we pound into our drums, multiplied<\/span> by the energy from the fans, that creates this almost<\/span> indescribable environment. There\u2019s no feeling like it,\u201d<\/span> Batipps says.<\/span><\/p>\n

It had always been Batipps\u2019 dream to play for the<\/span> Eagles drumline, so when a friend told him about<\/span> auditions, he signed up with no hesitation. The process<\/span> was surreal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy first memory of the Eagles drumline was when<\/span> I was in high school, so to put myself out there for the<\/span> opportunity years later was a major moment. It all came<\/span> to be,\u201d says Batipps, who inherited his lifelong Eagles<\/span> fandom from his parents. Now the football team helps<\/span> him hone one of his lifelong passions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Batipps started his formal percussion education<\/span> in middle school, playing as part of a concert band and an<\/span> orchestra. His innate rhythm and desire to perfect the<\/span> craft kept him going. In high school, he joined the marching<\/span>\u00a0band and participated in the indoor drumline<\/span> program. He learned about the power of the field, being<\/span> able to move while playing an instrument to better <\/span>connect with a crowd. Though he majored in journalism<\/span> at TCNJ and spent most of his time on his other pursuit \u2014<\/span> writing \u2014 the drums were still on his mind. During his<\/span> junior year, he jumped at the opportunity to help form a<\/span> TCNJ pep band, where he performed with classmates at <\/span>football games and club events. \u201cThe TCNJ community<\/span> reignited my passion for drumline again,\u201d Batipps says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now in his second year, Batipps has learned how to<\/span> channel his Eagles pride into energy for the audience.<\/span> The drumline practices two to three times a month, and<\/span> he juggles these responsibilities with his full-time job as a<\/span> senior account executive at Devine Partners, a boutique<\/span> public relations firm in Center City, Philadelphia. \u201cI am<\/span> balancing my passions,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Batipps was nervous for the first couple of drumline<\/span> gigs, as the sheer magnitude of the events weighed on him.<\/span> \u201cBut now we\u2019re just having fun out there,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m smiling from ear to ear and hitting the drum as hard as I can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Eagles fans have<\/span> heightened<\/span> Batipps\u2019 enthusiasm. Before the<\/span> drumline kicks off<\/span> each home game,<\/span> they play for<\/span> Eagles fans at<\/span> parking lot tailgates. On any given<\/span> game day, superfans are grilling<\/span> food, cracking<\/span> open cold beers,<\/span> and pumping<\/span> themselves up for<\/span> a win with chants and dance. It\u2019s a sea of kelly green \u2014<\/span> and the drumline adds the soundtrack. \u201cEagles fans are <\/span>very much Philly through and through,\u201d Batipps says.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhen you come to their stadium, you will feel their<\/span> passion; they let you know who they are.\u201d Batipps is proud<\/span> to be a part of that fan base.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the ultimate reward is the drumline\u2019s charity component. Aside from playing at games, the drummers get into<\/span> the community. Whether it\u2019s to support the Eagles Autism<\/span> Foundation or help raise funds for individuals with disabilities through Woods Services, the drumline\u2019s impact<\/span> goes beyond the stadium.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all share a love for giving and uplifting our community,\u201d Batipps says. When the drumline is helping to raise<\/span> money for an important cause and face-to-face with children whom they teach to play the drums, that\u2019s when they<\/span> feel their impact the most.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we see how eager children are to learn from us,<\/span> it gives us the positivity we need to keep going,\u201d says<\/span> Batipps. \u201cAs much as we play for the fans, it\u2019s really about<\/span> giving to the community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At Eagles games and in the community, Mylin Batipps fervently drums up support for his city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":323,"featured_media":12497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-corner","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/323"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12496"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12643,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12496\/revisions\/12643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}