Growing up in New Jersey you heard your whole life how the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is such a huge operation and an enormous undertaking that the moment it's done the next year is already being planned. Here's proof that it's true.

They've already picked from over 100 marching bands across the country which 10 will perform at the 2023 parade. Only one is from New Jersey and it's Rutgers. It's quite the honor for our state university as this is the first time in its history that the Marching Scarlet Knights will be in the parade.

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Todd Nichols, the university band and athletic band director, said,

Our entire university band program is thrilled to celebrate the Rutgers Marching Scarlet Knights being invited to represent our university and the great state of New Jersey in one of the most time-honored traditions for marching bands. To be invited to march in the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an incredible honor and quite honestly a ‘bucket-list’ wish for our band members, teaching staff and directors.

Now if that's a bucket list item you should know the band has already checked off some big items from that same list. The band performed on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in 2014 and again in 2017.

Also in 2014 they played a joint performance with Syracuse's marching band for a pregame at Super Bowl XLVIII. That was the one where Peyton Manning's Broncos suffered a miserable blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The band is also lovingly known as The Pride Of New Jersey and was formed as a small military band over a century ago in 1915. They're now well over 200 members strong.

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They'll be the only band repping the Garden State next year at Macy's parade on Thanksgiving. Where are the other 9 bands coming from? All over.

Alabama A&M University Marching Maroon & White (Normal, Alabama)

Band Directors Marching Band, USA

Fishers High School Marching Tiger Band (Fishers, Indiana)

Greendale High School Marching Band (Greendale, Wisconsin)

Jenison High School Marching Band (Jenison, Michigan)

Mercer Island High School Marching Band (Mercer Island, Washington)

O’Fallon Township High School Marching Panthers (O’Fallon, Illinois)

Stoneman Douglas High School Eagle Regiment (Parkland, Florida)

Texas Tech University Goin’ Band from Raiderland (Lubbock, Texas)

But that's fine. We already know we're the best.

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Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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