F*** With the Band? Find Out.
Another Example of Opposing Teams Learning the Hard Way
Yesterday, JMU football played as close to a flawless game as possible, running Ball State off the field 63-7. Alonza Barnett III had 5 passing touchdowns and 1 rushing, Defensive End Eric O’Neill had a Thicc 6, and there were multiple interceptions in general. Apart from their scripted drive, Ball State was rudderless. Hell, as much as we love our punter Ryan Hanson, he wasn’t even needed today. That was the first time JMU did not punt the ball since 2019.
For all intents and purposes, it was a business-like performance for JMU during Family Weekend. Which, for the record, saw a massive and engaged crowd throughout the entire game. I guess we can finally put to rest the stereotype of Family Weekend games being less than engaging and helpful.
So, that’s it. 63-7 butt kicking. We can pack it up and move on to ULM next week. Right?
Well…
Apparently, this game was over before it even began. While yes JMU was certainly favored, Ball State decided to take matters into their own hands and put some more bad juju on their team. Multiple accounts on Twitter cited Ball State players harassing and berating the MRDs during pregame with vulgar and crass language. What’s more, is that apparently their coaches were laughing while the players were doing so. If this is the case, then JMU was actually merciful pulling starters rather than hanging 80 on Ball State. I’m not saying the football team or Chesney knew what happened (not likely), but honestly, when was the last time a team got away with being rude to the MRDs and then won at Bridgeforth?
Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some recent history.
The last football team to harass the MRDs in a noticeable fashion was UCONN in 2023. It sounds like this was more of the same of what happened to the band yesterday, with players being rude thinking they could pick on the band kids, perhaps because they knew they had no chance against the football team. Of course, UCONN lost 44-6 in a forgettable game that the Huskies maybe should have been more focused on tackling than trombones.
Further back in 2016, JMU was in a somewhat competitive playoff game against our annoyingly pesky UNH rivals. JMU had already played a heart attack game against the Wildcats that year, so this game was thought perhaps to be the same. While this was not the fault of the UNH football team, the head referee in the game decided to use his influence and tell the band to stop playing so close to the snap of the football over the PA system. It was met with the loudest boos heard the entire game. JMU proceeded to win that game handily 55-22.
JMU of course went on to win the National Championship later that year as well, but I am sure the two are unrelated.
Look. I am biased here. I was in the MRDs during my time at JMU so of course I have a soft spot for the band and bands in general. I’d say that apart from one exceptionally horrific experience, away fans are mostly respectful when the MRDs are in town. Maybe that’s because most schools don’t roll up with 250-300 members and say “Oh, this is only half of us”. Or maybe that’s because most people are decent and realize that band kids work really hard too. And you know who understands that more than anyone, especially at the collegiate level?
Football players.
When I was in band, Mickey Matthews used to come out and talk to us during band camp to tell us how much he appreciated our hard work. He would tell us about how his mom was involved with the band when he was growing up, and how he wished he could take us to every away game because of the advantage we provided. Players throughout JMU’s program post on social media about how they see and appreciate all the hard work the band does. Coach Chesney seems to be following in the footsteps of Matthews in his appreciation for the band as well bringing them closer into the football program as well.
I’d say a good football team is also one that appreciates and respects all the other organizations that are also exceptional and provide a great game day experience. The most famous example of this is probably Ohio State and the relationship between their band and football team.
So, since I am trying to get better at writing shorter articles, I’ll leave it there. Band kids work hard and the football teams that know that seem to also perform much better on the field as well. We certainly know that there are fans out there that know how hard the MRDs and other bands across the country work. Maybe it’s time that subpar football programs took notes about this fact. Or perhaps they just prefer this.
F*** with the band? Find Out.
Go Dukes.
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I’m a member of the founding Madison College Marching Band. Thank you for publishing this! I hope the Ball State administration learns of the behavior of their players, and even worse, their coaches.
I’ll never forget former Cal hoops coach Ben Braun talking about how important the band was to the Haas Pavilion home atmosphere. That felt really good to hear.