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.
Wow that’s awesome! And honestly, after hearing it last night and then having it confirmed this afternoon after writing it, I’m glad I did. I wrote about it because football teams that have harassed the band before definitely get their come uppings eventually. It’s a pattern. You’d think they would learn.
I’m not sure it’ll make it to Ball State, but if it does, good luck to them. I’m not sure the coach and staff will be there much longer anyway, and given their behavior on Saturday, I can’t say I’m surprised.
As someone who has been involved with directing / assisting high school marching bands for most of the last 25 years, this is so nice to read! These kids work so hard and pour their heart and soul into their bands. I have an 11th grade son playing baritone (working towards drum major next year) and an 8th grade son marching sousaphone this year, and I’m in heaven as a volunteer assistant drill instructor / old crank / pit crew chief.
That’s awesome, and thank you for reading! Yes, I think now more than ever most people realize how hard band kids work, especially football players. Of course there’s still teasing and I for sure call myself a band dork all the time, but doesn’t mean they don’t work any less hard. I marched drumline for 8 plus years…that’s a lot of lifting as it is for baritone and sousaphone as well!
What’s funny in college is the first two instances were football teams that were objectively awful making fun of band, and then went on to get their teeth kicked in by the football team. From what I gather, for sure at some places, is the better the football team is, the more they respect their band counterparts on the whole. Small sample sizes mind you, but a mindful football team that appreciates the hard work of everyone around the program seems to also perform better on the field.
Again, thanks for the read, and good luck the rest of the season! We are getting into October which I call peak band season.
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.
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.
Wow that’s awesome! And honestly, after hearing it last night and then having it confirmed this afternoon after writing it, I’m glad I did. I wrote about it because football teams that have harassed the band before definitely get their come uppings eventually. It’s a pattern. You’d think they would learn.
I’m not sure it’ll make it to Ball State, but if it does, good luck to them. I’m not sure the coach and staff will be there much longer anyway, and given their behavior on Saturday, I can’t say I’m surprised.
Thank you for reading and sharing! Go Dukes!
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As someone who has been involved with directing / assisting high school marching bands for most of the last 25 years, this is so nice to read! These kids work so hard and pour their heart and soul into their bands. I have an 11th grade son playing baritone (working towards drum major next year) and an 8th grade son marching sousaphone this year, and I’m in heaven as a volunteer assistant drill instructor / old crank / pit crew chief.
That’s awesome, and thank you for reading! Yes, I think now more than ever most people realize how hard band kids work, especially football players. Of course there’s still teasing and I for sure call myself a band dork all the time, but doesn’t mean they don’t work any less hard. I marched drumline for 8 plus years…that’s a lot of lifting as it is for baritone and sousaphone as well!
What’s funny in college is the first two instances were football teams that were objectively awful making fun of band, and then went on to get their teeth kicked in by the football team. From what I gather, for sure at some places, is the better the football team is, the more they respect their band counterparts on the whole. Small sample sizes mind you, but a mindful football team that appreciates the hard work of everyone around the program seems to also perform better on the field.
Again, thanks for the read, and good luck the rest of the season! We are getting into October which I call peak band season.
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.