By Howard Wilkinson
The Cincinnati Enquirer

NEW YORK - Sandwiched between the Garfield the Cat balloon and Santa, the Miami University Marching Band stepped off onto Central Park West Thursday morning to take its place in the 77th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of the parade

Three blocks ahead of the red-clad, pink-plumed college band, two dozen grade school girls from the Kings Local District - members of Kings Firecrackers jump-rope squad - fell in line behind the giant Pikachu balloon, skipping rope down the confetti-strewn street with lightning precision.

And behind the Miami band and Santa, in the midst of a massive choral group made up of high school singers from around the country, about 40 members of the Oak Hills High School Varsity Singers marched and danced toward Columbus Circle and Times Square. And pairs of students from Lakota West High and Edgewood High School were part of what was billed as "the world's largest cheerleading squad."

It gave the annual Manhattan event, which was not only nationally televised but drew a crowd estimated at more than 2.5 million people lining the curbs and filling the grandstands, a distinct Cincinnati flavor, as if Vine Street had come to Broadway.

"This may be the proudest moment of my life," said Miami band director David Shaffer, nearly choking with emotion as he marched crisply down the wide avenue alongside his band. "They really sound great."

It was a long and grueling day for the 300-plus Cincinnati-area parade marchers, who made the 21/2-mile journey through the heart of Manhattan under blue skies.

The Miami band, along with most of the other 5,000 marchers, dancers and balloon-luggers, had been up since 3 a.m. By 4:15 a.m., they were at Herald Square for a rehearsal. After breakfast and a short rest, they made the trip to the staging area at Central Park West and West 81st Street.

There, they and the other performing groups had about two hours to kill. Dozens of band members gathered around the entrance to Central Park, where celebrities were arriving to take their places.

American Idol stars Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken arrived on golf carts, sending a buzz through the Miami band. When teen actress Hilary Duff appeared on a float, three Miami cheerleaders - Karalee Eich of Pickerington, Megan Cunnigan of Westerville and Tiffany Sullivan of Bowling Green - rushed to have their pictures taken with her.

One of the prime spots in the Miami band formation went to percussionist T.J. Meloy of Mount Healthy, who helped carry the Miami University banner.

Meloy has been blind since birth; he cannot participate in the formations that the band does at Miami football games and generally plays on the sidelines; but in Thursday's straight-ahead march, he was front and center.

"This is great," said Meloy. "You can feel the excitement."

Two blocks south of where the Miami band prepared, the Kings Firecrackers lined up in front of the American Museum of Natural History and practiced their routines, their plastic jump-ropes clacking on the marble steps.

Eleven-year-old Sammi Braeuer, a rookie member of the Firecrackers, who performed at the Macy's Parade two years ago, rubbed her eyes and bounced to stay warm in the crisp, cool morning air.

"We had to get up real early today," said Sammi. "But it was worth it. People all over the country will see us."

The Firecrackers' coach, Lynn Kelley, put the girls through some warm-up routines and then decided that, with the sun shining and the temperatures expected to rise quickly, the girls could shed their warm-up pants and jackets and march in the red, white and blue shorts and jerseys.

"They'll work up a sweat pretty fast, jumping rope for two hours straight," said Kelley.

Along the route parade-goers shouted greetings to the Ohio kids in thick New York accents. From time to time, along the route, the Miami band passed small knots of people wearing Miami sweatshirts and hats - alumni who now live in the Big Apple.

Just north of Columbus Circle, Mike and Sandy Collins of Fairfield stood in the front row of the crowd and cheered their daughter Aimee, a field commander for the Miami band, as she marched by. Aimee glanced sideways and caught a glimpse of her parents and little brother, Chris. She smiled and kept on marching.

"We're all proud of Miami today," said Mike Collins. "And pretty proud of our girl, too."

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E-mail hwilkinson@enquirer.com