When did halftime get hijacked?

[Kamarag]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

I agree, surprise! But I also know it is becoming more and more rare for that to occur with many shows now being constructed to modern criteria adjudicated contests.

 

Actually, in my area it's becoming more and more common for the competition show to be perfect for Friday nights. I know I design with that in mind, as does almost every band we meet as the season progresses. 

BOA bands are not the be-all-end-all, Stu (and many, if not most of those bands have perfectly fine Friday shows as well).

[Stu]

4 minutes ago, Kamarag said:

 

Actually, in my area it's becoming more and more common for the competition show to be perfect for Friday nights. I know I design with that in mind, as does almost every band we meet as the season progresses. 

BOA bands are not the be-all-end-all, Stu (and many, if not most of those bands have perfectly fine Friday shows as well).

You made the FloMarching panel, so you must be doing something right!

[HockeyDad]

11 hours ago, Lead said:

It's not an opinion. I'm active in the field, it's a fact.

You'd be intelligent not to argue the facts of someone who is knowledgeable and out there on Friday nights (and in the hallways every day).

You have a nice team. My facts based on 30 years of direct involvement are quite different from yours so here we are. I've mellowed considerably from the righteous defender of the drum corps style to appreciating all styles because my facts tell me one size does not fit all. 

Edited September 23, 2017 by HockeyDad

[Tim K]

As we're commenting on just about every aspect possible, and in some cases deciding one opinion is the correct one, we forget that every district is unique and this may be a regional issue. Football is still king in Texas and it's an absolute monarch. Go to Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maine, football may still be king but it's a figure head. My guess is that if angry band parents from some school districts in my area complained to the principal, and use either the "d" word--discrimination or "u" word--unfair, action would be taken because there are more band parents than football parents and in my area, football is no longer the money maker it once was, basketball is the cash cow. We also can't ignore that many schools are dropping football programs, some due to safety issues, others due to cost and lack of interest. In many cases the football coach no longer has as many arrows in his quiver.

If it's any consolation, I know football and basketball coaches who complain the only people who actually watch the games are the parents of the players, unless it is a rivalry or playoff/championship game. As someone who has probably attended more high school games than the average person, high school kids often arrive at games late, leave early, spend lots of time socializing and at the concession stands, and watch some of the game. In many cases high school sporting events are as much a reason to get together as it is about the game. This should not be seen as a problem, it's normal socialization for the age and it's an observation not a critique. 

Maybe the solution for the band to get the same respect as the football team is to mobilize the parents who have a child who plays football and another who is in the band. They have a vested interest in both worlds.

[Cappybara]

This is quite a silly thread, or may I say, some of the opinions in here are quite silly. 

At my high school in northern Virginia (which is actually a hotbed for the marching arts believe it or not) we had weekly competitions. On Friday nights for home games, the band would go onto the field to play the national anthem and welcome the football team. After that, we would go into the stands and play typical stand music, and the fight song would only be reserved for when we scored touchdowns (which was pretty often). At halftime, the dance team would perform a routine (the same routine that THEY would perform at their competitions) and so would the cheerleaders. Then we would march onto the field and play our competition show. The crowd typically responded positively. 

The fact of the matter is that all of these programs are part of a SCHOOL and the goal of schools are to EDUCATE. The football team is not just there to entertain a crowd, they’re also there to get these young kids exposure to the sport, gain experience, get coached, and learn. 

The dance team performs the same routine they do at their competitions. Imagine that! You know why? Because the dance team needs experience performing in front of a crowd. It is, for them, a dress rehearsal so that their coach can see where flaws in the performance are and fix them during practices. 

And the same goes for the cheerleaders, same goes for the marching band. They don’t need to make their jobs primarily to promote school spirit. Just having people THERE all together dressed up in the same colors is enough school spirit in of itself. We are talking about public schools here, their goal is to first and foremost educate their student body, no matter what program we are talking about. 

 

I can understand a marching band’s or dance teams’ primary job being promoting school spirit and entertainment in COLLEGE because very few actually will participate in competitions and the programs are there as a supplement to the education the students are getting as dance or music majors in their classes. 

But saying that bands should shut up and run around in circles while playing the fight song during halftime for the sake of “OMG SCHOOL SPIRIT!!! KUMBAYA!” is so silly that I’m not surprised that it’s coming from anyone but Stu himself. 

[GUARDLING]

4 hours ago, Tim K said:

As we're commenting on just about every aspect possible, and in some cases deciding one opinion is the correct one, we forget that every district is unique and this may be a regional issue. Football is still king in Texas and it's an absolute monarch. Go to Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maine, football may still be king but it's a figure head. My guess is that if angry band parents from some school districts in my area complained to the principal, and use either the "d" word--discrimination or "u" word--unfair, action would be taken because there are more band parents than football parents and in my area, football is no longer the money maker it once was, basketball is the cash cow. We also can't ignore that many schools are dropping football programs, some due to safety issues, others due to cost and lack of interest. In many cases the football coach no longer has as many arrows in his quiver.

If it's any consolation, I know football and basketball coaches who complain the only people who actually watch the games are the parents of the players, unless it is a rivalry or playoff/championship game. As someone who has probably attended more high school games than the average person, high school kids often arrive at games late, leave early, spend lots of time socializing and at the concession stands, and watch some of the game. In many cases high school sporting events are as much a reason to get together as it is about the game. This should not be seen as a problem, it's normal socialization for the age and it's an observation not a critique. 

Maybe the solution for the band to get the same respect as the football team is to mobilize the parents who have a child who plays football and another who is in the band. They have a vested interest in both worlds.

Yup I have seen this happen in the last 2 decades and of course have seen the opposite with programs caving to the bully in some cases ,territorial,get off my pee spot tactics from some athletic directors.I have been lucky enough to be part of programs where the band programs were top billing but do know many who still fall under the  many decades gone by stigma often perpetuated by  school staff themselves.

Edited September 23, 2017 by GUARDLING

[Stu]

37 minutes ago, Cappybara said:

This is quite a silly thread, or may I say, some of the opinions in here are quite silly. 

At my high school in northern Virginia (which is actually a hotbed for the marching arts believe it or not) we had weekly competitions. On Friday nights for home games, the band would go onto the field to play the national anthem and welcome the football team. After that, we would go into the stands and play typical stand music, and the fight song would only be reserved for when we scored touchdowns (which was pretty often). At halftime, the dance team would perform a routine (the same routine that THEY would perform at their competitions) and so would the cheerleaders. Then we would march onto the field and play our competition show. The crowd typically responded positively. 

The fact of the matter is that all of these programs are part of a SCHOOL and the goal of schools are to EDUCATE. The football team is not just there to entertain a crowd, they’re also there to get these young kids exposure to the sport, gain experience, get coached, and learn. 

The dance team performs the same routine they do at their competitions. Imagine that! You know why? Because the dance team needs experience performing in front of a crowd. It is, for them, a dress rehearsal so that their coach can see where flaws in the performance are and fix them during practices. 

And the same goes for the cheerleaders, same goes for the marching band. They don’t need to make their jobs primarily to promote school spirit. Just having people THERE all together dressed up in the same colors is enough school spirit in of itself. We are talking about public schools here, their goal is to first and foremost educate their student body, no matter what program we are talking about. 

 

I can understand a marching band’s or dance teams’ primary job being promoting school spirit and entertainment in COLLEGE because very few actually will participate in competitions and the programs are there as a supplement to the education the students are getting as dance or music majors in their classes. 

But saying that bands should shut up and run around in circles while playing the fight song during halftime for the sake of “OMG SCHOOL SPIRIT!!! KUMBAYA!” is so silly that I’m not surprised that it’s coming from anyone but Stu himself. 

When Dance Teams start performing to the sounds of Steve Reich and Edgar Varese at Football games and contests, and when Cheerleaders start chanting the words of Burroughs and Ginsberg at football Games and contests, they will be in the same genera as many marching bands who perform their contest material at football games.  Until then your argument that marching bands are doing pretty much the same as Dance Teams and Cheerleaders at football games is without much validity.

[Cappybara]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

When Dance Teams start performing to the sounds of Steve Reich and Edgar Varese at Football games and contests, and when Cheerleaders start chanting the words of Burroughs and Ginsberg at football Games and contests, they will be in the same genera as many marching bands who perform their contest material at football games.  Until then your argument that marching bands are doing pretty much the same as Dance Teams and Cheerleaders at football games is without much validity.

 

That isn’t my argument at all. 

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Cappybara said:

That isn’t my argument at all. 

But that is ‘my’ point. A plethora of hs bands all across the nation are doing their competition artsy thematic performances with titles like Fleurs dans la neige at halftime instead of doing halftime shows that actually connect with a Friday night football crowd.  That is the real hijack of halftime!!!!

[Cappybara]

3 hours ago, Stu said:

But that is ‘my’ point. A plethora of hs bands all across the nation are doing their competition artsy thematic performances with titles like Fleurs dans la neige at halftime instead of doing halftime shows that actually connect with a Friday night football crowd.  That is the real hijack of halftime!!!!

 

My point is that whether the performances are artsy fartsy or not is irrelevant. What matters is education of the participants