Would the end of football mean the end of drum corps?

[glory]

This is the way I interpreted your post, Brigand. But after thinking about it while I've been absent, I recall all the stories here about practicing in parking lots and cow pastures. Somehow, I think that if you could find a flat spot that you could line, with maybe some hills, or even trees worth climbing, nearby, fans would pack the home side and enjoy the show.

"If you build it..." most certainly applies to drum corps fans.

Agree it applies to drum corps fans. What about marching band fans? Football now is how marching band integrates itself into the school community. Take football away and marching band is more like winter guard. It's not that people won't come to see you perform. It's more like the threshold is much higher so the crowds are much smaller.

We need football whether we like it or not.

HH (didn't give Garfield - or anyone - the reg negative)

[Piper]

Bands rely on football for entertainment venues and Drum Corps relies on bands for recruiting. It's like an evolutionary food chain.

Edited April 6, 2012 by Piper

[corpsband]

Agree it applies to drum corps fans. What about marching band fans? Football now is how marching band integrates itself into the school community. Take football away and marching band is more like winter guard. It's not that people won't come to see you perform. It's more like the threshold is much higher so the crowds are much smaller.

We need football whether we like it or not.

Well..those HS stadiums are used for a LOT more than just football games. Football may have been their raison initiale d'etre, but now the use for that facility extends well beyond football.

The issue -- just as it is now -- would be funding. If the music department is already largely self-supporting through boosters, then it would probably keep going. If the school is funded entirely through the school, I could see school boards slashing funding in the absence of football.

I agree with Piper -- drum corps and HS MB are all part of the same food chain. If competitive HS MBs disappear, it would severely impact drum corps ( in a multitude of ways).

[glory]

I'm not talking so much about the facilities as I am about the activity itself. Marching band NEEDS football because without it it's just another obscure high-school activity that no one sees. Kind of like ... concert band.

HH

[corpsband]

I'm not talking so much about the facilities as I am about the activity itself. Marching band NEEDS football because without it it's just another obscure high-school activity that no one sees. Kind of like ... concert band.

Marching band is an obscure high-school activity no one sees -- even *with* HS football.

[Jeff Ream]

Why can't people like or want both community based (we still have some) and big time touring corps?

flag on the play. illegal use of logic, common sense and reality.

15 yards, repeat 3rd down and the last 3 sets we just ran, full out

[Jeff Ream]

Not that I care about the count, but why would I get a red neg for my last?

Does somebody NOT think fans would come?

if you ask about the red, you care

( says the guy who should have a negative count, but for whatever reason doesnt)

[craiga]

I'm not talking so much about the facilities as I am about the activity itself. Marching band NEEDS football because without it it's just another obscure high-school activity that no one sees. Kind of like ... concert band.

HH

I guess the marching band I teach is the exception...we do 7 band competitions (inc the State finals) each year, and we DO NOT do football games. Ever. Really. Doing a football game would be tantamount to having one of our jazz ensembles to a basketball game. We are not a sports band. And, when we host a marching band show, the crowd is more than double the size of the football crowd, and we are in the top-most division in terms of school size for football in our state. So, I guess it varies.

[MikeN]

Craig,

While I (and I'm sure most of us!) envy your band setup there, I'd say yours is the exception rather than the rule.

I seem to remember the last number estimated was that 50% of all HS marching bands don't compete in any fashion? (Do correct me if there's a more accurate number.)

I don't see any way, shape or form that DCI could survive without scholastic football, mainly because it would do so much harm to scholastic marching band.

But, this is also a hypothetical. I'm sure that here in Texas, there's absolutely, positively no way that HS football would be abolished, no matter what studies are done on the subject.

Mike

[Tim K]

Craig and Mike's posts both have interesting points. One argues that his band is not dependent on football, the other believes football is essential for bands and it is the only way future corps will find members. Differing geographic regions may have something to do with the different points of view. Judging from a note below his post, I'm assuming Craig may be from the northeast, and Mike mentioned Texas in his post. I know in Massachusetts fewer and fewer bands travel to away football games and some may only have a pep band in the stands for home games. These schools often do have well established music programs, but fall marching band is not essential. If "Friday Night Lights" is accurate, football is king in Texas and the only purpose of the band is to make the school look more powerful.

In Massachusetts, there are about twenty five high school bands that compete in the fall. All have a lot of heart, some are better than others, but it's always a good take for a Sunday afternoon providing the weather is nice and the enthusiasm can be contagious. For some schools the band is far better than the football team, but in most cases, the schools that have good music programs also have good athletic programs, drama programs, etc., the academics are top notch, and interestingly the communities are not necessarily affluent. This could be more fertile ground for potential drum corps members.

It is probably the norm that most members of drum corps get their early marching lessons from high school bands, and it may put a taste in their mouths for performance, but I wonder if marching in high school football half time shows really ignites the desire for drum corps. Attending a competition, "Big, Live, and Loud" at movie theaters, or even the Legacy DVD's from DCI (I know some kids who once they get past the chuckles of bad 70's-90's hairstyles, have a great appreciation for old and new school shows) are great resources. My guess is that a love of music along with passion for excellence, coupled with motivation and hard work accounts for new members. Also, corps are savvy recruiters. If football goes, (which it won't) DCI corps will find other ways to recruit.