I’d really enjoy feedback on this series, so please comment. Also, please note that I didn’t do so much of the “extended editing” on this piece, so be gentle about those types of issues.
As someone who is not an insider to the ways of the band, but rather a student and fan of the Michigan football team, the band has been failing in its responsibilities to enhance the gameday atmosphere inside Michigan Stadium. There are various ways in which the band’s presence could be improved.
The first improvement is the placement of the band. While the band exists to enhance the experience for all fans, the students are the primary participants in the cheers and songs that are played by the band. In Michigan Stadium, the band is placed in the stand within the student section, so that the sound moves away from the students. This makes it difficult for all students to hear certain songs by the band, and nearly impossible for the poor freshmen in row 98, who can hear almost nothing the band plays.
The students’ participation in cheers led by the band is hindered not only by their inability to hear what the band is playing, but by an utter lack of these cheers in general. On any given Saturday, the band typically plays 3-4 songs with participation by students: “Temptation” (3rd down stop, with the claw and the “You Suck” chant – which I despise), “Hawaiian War Chant” (I think, it’s the one they play on most first downs, with the hands in the air and the “Let’s Go Blue” at the end), “Let’s Go Blue” (random, with clapping and yelling “Let’s Go Blue” at the end), and “The Victors” (With the singing, and the clapping, and the fist pumping, etc.). If there are any others I’m forgetting, let me know, but this is still sparse, sparse stuff.
Encouraging the God Damn 3rd Down Key Play Thingy. The GD3DKPT is the bane of my existence. It not only gives people (mostly students) an excuse to not make loud noise on opponents’ 3rd downs, but even encourages them not to. The band endorses the GD3DKPT by remaining silent, and wiggling their hands in the air, without even having keys to make noise. This renders them literally silent, at a time when every soul in the stadium should be making as much noise as possible.
Refusal to play the alma mater at the end of games. A very important tradition in college football is the playing of the school’s alma mater at the conclusion of the contest, win or lose. Some of the most powerful moments have come during this time. Matt Leinart, confetti flowing around him, conducts the Sprit of Troy in “All Hail” after the Trojans clinch the National Championship over Oklahoma in January 2005. Jim Tressel and his fellow coaches and players stopping in front of the Block O to sing “Carmen Ohio,” before (while) the students in Columbus stormed the field after defeating Michigan in 2006. Under Jamie Nix, the Michigan Marching Band has refused to participate in this tradition. My freshman year, I e-mailed Professor Nix, asking him why the band did not engage in this time-honored tradition. His (remarkably rude) response was that he would do things the way he wanted, and if fans wanted to hear the alma mater, they could wait until the end of the postgame show. I can only hope that the new director has the respect for college football tradition (and concerned fans) that Mr. Nix so clearly lacked.
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