The Golden Band from Tigerland won ESPN’s Battle of the Bands “Quest for the Crystal Ball” competition and the $25,000 prize, said Rob Dowie, Tiger Band Drum Major.Dowie said he and the 100 band members in Gainesville, Fla., for the Tigers’ matchup against the Gators, watched the announcement live on ESPN’s College GameDay program Saturday morning.”Just walking through campus or around the band area, University of Florida fans, who you’d expect to try to intimidate us, were coming up and saying how great they think our band is,” Dowie said. “It was really good for the morale of the band.”ESPN teamed with Paramount Pictures to promote the release of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” on DVD, Roy King, assistant director of bands, told The Daily Reveille in September.”Our intent is to use the money for our new band building, so this would definitely be beneficial,” he said.Tiger Band also received $5,000 for participating in the competition, Dowie said.Tiger Band performed their version of the “Indiana Jones” theme song during Saturday’s game. Each of the seven participating bands has a video on ESPN’s Web site to showcase their performance of the theme song, each with different arrangements.Tiger Band raised its share of the $10 million required to start construction on a new facility — the all-inclusive LSU Marching Band Hall — before the Aug. 30 due date. The band raised $1.4 million in gifts and pledges from private donors, and the Athletic Department pledged $4.5 million from ticket revenue. The state Legislature appropriated $5 million in matching funds.According to Friends of the LSU Tiger Band Web site, the $10 million is enough to “provide essential space” needed from the new facility, but “an additional $5 million will be required to make this new band hall a true home for the Golden Band from Tigerland.”Dowie said word of the win quickly spread among Tiger Band members through phone calls and text messages, a surge of excitement he was able to notice and said led to an energized performance in The Swamp.—-Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]