Arnold High School band members have just one practice left before heading south for possibly the biggest performance they'll ever have.

"It's probably one of the biggest things that's ever happened in my life. It's something I'm really looking forward to and I'm sure a lot of them are looking forward to because we're going to be playing in front of thousands of people and it's something all of us can really remember," said Dylan Hendrickson, drum major.

The Blue Thunder Band will perform a pregame and halftime show at the BCS National Championship football game. They'll be joining hundreds of other students from across the country, but they're the only school that was chosen from Florida.

"This is finally our chance to prove ourselves, for somebody to know that just us 8 girls here from such a big school, but a small band. We actually do have a lot of talent and they have a lot of skill to show for themselves," said Allison Meola, Colorguard Lieutenant.

Because of the economy, affording a trip like this wasn't easy. Band members and boosters did a lot of fundraising to send the students to Miami.

"We've been able to raise money basically to cover the entire cost of transportation and we've raised some money to help kids and the families that were in need to go because we needed as much attendance as we could from all of our kids. So that was a goal of the parents and myself and we have nearly 100 percent going. We're only missing maybe 4 or 5," said Jason Bennett, the band director.

The BCS Bational Championship is next Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Central.