80 Minutes of Regulation

Champion's Honor

2012-01-29T15:14:00.000-05:00

I read--and could have assumed as much--that there was a moment of silence before yesterday's Honda Battle of the Bands to honor Robert Champion, the FAMU drum major who lost his life to hazing in November.

This moment of silence was observed by thousands of HBCU band members and the tens of thousands that came tos ee them perform. To those band members: You should all be extremely proud of yourselves. You are part of a long and storied tradition of arguably the most popular piece of the marching arts spectum: The HBCU marching band. You are but one step in a legacy whose power can be evidenced by the 60,000 who piled into the Georgia Dome to see you on that day. To the additional thousands of HBCU marching band alumni who were undoubtedly at the Honda, you should share in that pride.

But I hope sincerely that during that moment of silence, something else entered folks hearts and minds. To those who have ever swung a paddle, a fist, a foot or an instrument so that a fellow bandsman or woman could "get down", or stood idly by as a party to such offenses, you are sadly part of a much darker legacy. It is this legacy, this insidious institution of hazing, which claimed the life of Robert Champion.

Let's end hazing.

Set Sail to the (Big) East

2012-01-24T20:57:00.000-05:00

The Big East announced today that the United States Naval Academy will be joining the conference. Because of outstanding commitments, they won't be a conference member until 2015, but that puts the Big East one step closer to the stated goal: a 12 team conference and a conference championship game. Selfishly, it's another game within reach for me--Annapolis is about six hours from Greensboro, but more importantly, I've got plenty of reason to be in Maryland. I've made my way to Navy-Marine Corps Stadium once before for the NCAA lacrosse tournament, and I look forward to having a chance to head back.

Leader? Legend?

2012-01-24T12:51:00.000-05:00

The two words above name the divisions of the Big Ten conference, and as we reflect on the life of Joe Paterno, many will question if he was both or neither.

I will say up front that my ties to Penn State and Joe Paterno are tangential and few. I grew up in Delaware, where Penn State is often the default major college program, and as a fan of the sport of college football, Paterno was clearly on my radar. Until late last season, Paterno was nearly universally regarded as a paragon of the sport, espousing a sort of old school leadership that may very well be the last of its kind. In an age where coaches go on a whim wherever their wallets take them, Paterno spent 45 years as head coach at Penn State. It was widely believed that whenever he retired or passed away, he would be widely celebrated.

Late last season, Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant coach, was alleged to have committed what now amounts to over 50 reprehensible cases of sexual abuse of a minor. It quickly came out that Joe Paterno had been informed at some point and did relatively little to ensure Sandusky was brought to justice or even keep him away from the program. For this action--or rather, inaction--Paterno's legacy changed very quickly. He was removed unceremoniously from his coaching position, his name was stricken from the yet-to-be-awarded Big Ten Championship trophy, And many who had lionized the career of the head Nittany Lion were now rebuking him. Sadly, before we could even begin to make sense of this complex situation, Paterno passed away at the age of 85 two months later, leaving many confused as to how I feel about his legacy. A couple of well thought out responses are available here by Bomani Jones and here by Pete Pereira.

As for me, it is my belief that one can condemn Paterno for his inaction while at the same time celebrating his achievements and what he meant to the world of college football, Penn State, and those with whom he interacted personally. I wrote something shortly after the death of Michael Jackson, and if I may quote myself, with regards to his great career and his alleged improprieties with minors: One of these facts does not excuse the other, but just as importantly, one of these facts does not render the other irrelevant.

When all is said and done, I think Joe Paterno will be remembered as a man who did a lot of things right and at least one thing horribly, horribly wrong. Such will be his complicated legacy.

Rest in peace, Joe Paterno.

2011 Year in Review

2012-01-23T21:56:00.001-05:00

If I keep at this pace, I'll start doing my year in review in February. As it is, it's over halfway through January, but let's close the books on 2011, shall we?

Live Events
The birth of my daughter - it's not sports/marching related and I don't give a damn, it was far and away the biggest thing to happen in 2011. Anastasia was born on March 13 and my life is forever changed for the better. On the sports/marching front, though, there are a few things worth reporting. I watched UMBC lacrosse play Hopkins in the Faceoff Classic from the hotel room (no, my wife was not in active labor at the time). Upon seeing that event scheduled, I thought that I would have loved to make it, but knowing it was less than two weeks before the due date, I knew it wasn't a possibility. Anastasia was born the next morning. She was in the neonatal ICU for her first week; I live in the state of North Carolina and it was the height of March Madness, but if you wanted to find a place in the state where no one gives a damn about college basketball, this was it. Nowadays, she's starting to become quite the drummer ~~thanks to strategic brainwashing~~.

ACC Tournament - Rewind about a week or so, and I made my way to the ACC men's basketball tournament for the second year in a row. Same MO this time around--we headed to the Greensboro Coliseum lot to see what we could see and once again got in for a decent ticket. We also checked out the then-newly opened ACC Hall of Champions, which is on the Coliseum grounds.

UMBC lacrosse at Chapel Hill - Actually, I missed this one. We had originally planned to be there, but a friend of ours got married that day. It was even in the plans to head to both--the wedding was east of Chapel Hill and early enough that it seemed like a possibility--but confusion on my part about when the game started led to us missing it. We would have been witnessing a loss for the Dawgs anyway.

DCI Tour of Champions/Summer Music Games of Southwest Virginia - I was excited about DCI's new Tour of Champions format and looked forward to attending an event. Carolina Crown's NightBEAT, which I typically attend anyway, was one, and my crew and I headed down, even forgoing the usual tailgating to check out what all the format had to offer. There were some cool goings on as far as pre-show activities and warmups. We made it through the intro and Teal Sound's performance before we had to evacuate the stadium (and its metal stands) as the skies opened up to the thunderstorm that ultimately canceled the event. The fine folks at Carolina Crown did their best to make it up to the audience though; they first announced they would honor tickets at the Tidewater Summer Music Games (also a Crown event) and ultimately struck a deal with the folks who run the Summer Music Games event in Salem, VA to honor tickets there as well. That show had me sitting behind the end zone and viewing the show from the side (the tickets available were standing room only) but there's plenty to be said for being able to take in a show in the picturesque mountains of Southwest VA.

FSU vs. Wake Forest - As I have the past few years, I went to see FSU football with my friends James and Rachel, both Florida State alums. As this game was adjacent to the Dixie Classic Fair, we decided to fairgate for this one. Definitely a good time, though it was an FSU loss.

NC Pro-Am - I headed out to Durham to see the NC Pro-Am on the campus of NC Central, a basketball summer series consisting of matchups between teams comprised of professional and amateur athletes. On the day I was there, Rasheed Wallace, Austin Rivers, and Seth Curry were all present.

Drumline Live - If ever there were a stage production made for me, this was it. Drumline Live is to HBCU marching bands what Blast! is to drum corps. The tour brought it to Charlotte this past year, and it was every bit as spectacular as you might imagine.

Snare a World Record - On the 4th of July, I gathered in downtown Greensboro in an attempt to snare a world record. The goal was 1,776 drummers doing a roll at once. We fell short of that number, and the record (though we set a new US record) but it was nice to come out of retirement!

Biggest Surprises
Realignment - Who new conference realignment would go gorillas this past year? Let's see if my math is right on this one, in no particular order: Texas A&M and Missouri SECeded, WVU and TCU EXIIted, Syracuse and Pitt get ACCepted, and UCF, Houston, Boise State, San Diego State, and SMU join those who were left BEhind. But that oversimplifies it, doesn't it? In reality, we sat perched on the precipice of superconferences for a solid portion of the year, and I found it simultaneously exciting and unnerving, particularly as an alum of a school in the Big East, which still has the sword of Damocles hanging over its head.

Scandals - Two huge scandals sent shockwaves through both the college football and marching worlds. In football, allegation of Jerry Sandusky's child molestation at Penn State rocked a program and ultimately led to the unceremonious firing of Joe Paterno, coach of the program for 45 years.

In marching, a hazing incident at FAMU led to the death of one of the drum majors of the Marching 100. The 100 still remains on suspension as Robert Champion's death and many other hazing allegations within the legendary, Sudler Trophy-winning band.

The Cadets - it is by no means a surprise that The Cadets are back on top of DCI. The surprise is that I was rooting for them every step of the way. I've often been critical of the corps, and often flat out not liked what they brought to the field. but this year's production, Between Angels and Demons, was one for the ages, and I was glad to see it take the gold.

Looking forward to in 2012
This spring the Charlotte Hounds, one of two new franchises in Major League Lacrosse, will begin play. While I'm not a huge follower of the MLL, I'm looking forward to having a relatively local team, and it's my plan to head down for the home opener in late April. I'm also looking forward to Greensboro once again hosting NCAA basketball tournament action.

80 Minutes and Beyond
Finally, I just want to say a few things about what's happening over here. In 2011, I started the 80 Minutes (Give or Take) podcast, bought 80minutesofregulation.com, and fulfilled my promise of "more" at the start of college football season by giving you the Band on the Road project, the BOTR Game of the Week, and the most extensive bowl band coverage the internet has to offer in the Big Band Bowl Battle. What's in store for 2012? Stay tuned...

For Baltimore, and Maryland...

2012-01-15T23:06:00.001-05:00

In the Baltimore Sports Legends Museum, part of the Colts display
is the back of a Mayflower truck.

I know I'm speaking on this before its time, but fear not, Baltimore, I'm quite sure I don't have enough karmic pull vis-a-vis the Ravens for this to be a jinx.

Right now, the Baltimore Ravens are two games away--two tough games, mind you, vs. the New England Patriots and whoever wins the NFC, mind you, but two games nonetheless--from winning a Super Bowl in the home of the Colts. Should that happen, might it exorcise some demons that first appeared nearly 30 years ago on a snowy March night?

Make no mistake, I've got no birthright to the ire of the Baltimore faithful against the Colts. The team left town when I was two years old and still living in Boston. Still, having married into a Baltimore family and attended UMBC, I feel for the city that woke up on the morning of March 29, 1984 without a football team. And while folks will quickly cite that Baltimore later turned and did the same to Cleveland, it's worth noting that all records stayed in Cleveland and were reactivated when the Cleveland Browns returned, meaning that Jim Brown was never in jeopardy of the likes of Jamal Lewis or Ray Rice breaking his franchise records as Peyton Manning has to Johnny Unitas. Still, as a city that loves football, Baltimore quickly embraced the Ravens, and the Super Bowl following the 2000 season certainly didn't hurt.

Even with the success of the Ravens franchise, though, there is still a sore spot when it comes to the team that left town. The team in Indianapolis has taken 7 of 10 from the Ravens, including an eight game, nine year drought, and while Baltimore notched one of those victories this year, wins weren't exactly hard to come by against the 2011 Colts. But now, a group of men, only a handful of whom were even alive in 1984 are poised to potentially make the ultimate statement: To walk into the city of Indianapolis, into the House that Irsay Built, and walk out with a championship. It may finally bring the story of Baltimore football full circle.

Should they accomplish this feat, I say they should drive the Lombardi Trophy home in a Mayflower truck.

Doing too much or doing it right?

2012-01-02T01:36:00.000-05:00

So first of all, happy new year! As you can probably guess, New Year's Day (or in this case, 1/2), filled with parades and college football, is essentially a high holy day over here. I hope you've enjoyed the Big Band Bowl Battle, but I realize that a corollary is that I haven't given y'all much else in a couple weeks. There's probably a year in review coming up in not too long, as it has the past two years, but in the mean time...

While I will admit to a relatively small sample size, it seems that when it comes to basketball games that fall over school breaks (most notably winter break) major conference schools are more likely to go bare bones with respect to pep band, cheerleaders, and other spirit squads than mid-majors (side note-calling every non-major school a mid-major is like your smallest size being a "medium", but I digress). As a member of the pep band at UMBC, then a Northeast Conference school, I expected to be at every home basketball game, even those that fell over break, and with six week layoff between fall and spring semesters, it was a sizable break. I don't recall it ever having been explicitly stated to us, and pep band was a semesterly course, so there was no grade hanging over our head between semesters, but I think all of us just sort of understood our commitment to be for the basketball season, and we did our best to attend those games, which for me meant driving just over an hour from Wilmington, DE to Catonsville. And on the rare occasions I couldn't make it, it wasn't because the band was off-duty. Now, working at UNCG, a Southern Conference school, I see the same from our pep band: Regardless of when the game falls, there is a band presence.

In contrast, a few winters ago I headed up to Virginia Tech for a game. UMBC was playing there over break, and Blacksburg's only a slight detail from the path we beat between Greensboro and MD/DE for the holidays, so we made the trip. No cheerleaders. No band. No student section to speak of. Similarly, a recent article detailing the UNCG game at Duke this past December spoke of the "replacement" band they brought in during break. And my friend Brian, who was covering a few games in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for Rush the Court, told a similar tale: No pep bands present, and cheerleaders generally lacking.

So why is that? I've got a few theories. One is that the mid-majors are more likely to be regional institutions, meaning that band members and cheerleaders probably live closer to the school and it's easier to get a critical mass together. The majors, by contrast, draw from a a wider area, making it tough to make it back, especially if residence halls are closed. How could we have expected the Duke pep band to make the trip back to Durham from New Jersey over the holidays? Another theory is the importance, real or perceived, of those spirit squads to the overall picture of college hoops at the institution. While attendance was low at the Tech game I attended, I'm sure their coffers weren't hurting any, and those who showed up showed up because they wanted to see Hokie hoops. Mid-majors may be more likely to sell the entire package, which includes cheer, dance, and pep bands. Finally, the fact of the matter is, when UMBC or UNCG is playing a game over break, it is at least someone on our level, with the occasional chance that we're bringing in a heavier hitter. At VT, for example, they were playing a mid-major they fully expected to beat during the week of Christmas. Forgive them for not rolling out the red carpet for that one.

So who's right? My bias is clear, and while I can't fault those who have a harder time getting the band back together, kudos to the schools providing the full experience every time.

B4: 2012 BCS National Championship Game - Alabama vs. LSU

2012-01-01T00:00:00.002-05:00

Big Band Bowl Battle (B4) Disclaimer: Whenever possible, I tried to post band videos on equal footing; that is, amateur vs. amateur, professional vs. professional, pregame vs. pregame, halftime vs. halftime, and so on. I am, of course, limited to that which is available on YouTube. While I can appreciate if I selected a video that doesn't portray your band in the best light, keep in mind B4 is for entertainment purposes only. Thanks for stopping by!

By the time the BCS National Championship Game is played, we will have had over a month to tell the story's we've all heard: There shouldn't be a rematch. Alabama didn't even win its division. They had their shot. The first game was boring. This is why we need a playoff. Rest assured, neither Alabama, LSU, their respective fanbases, or most of the Southeastern United States give a damn about any of that. They're each fired up to meet a familiar foe in perhaps the capital of the SEC West on college football's grandest stage.

The football matchup will hopefully have a slightly different tenor than the 9-6 overtime defensive struggle earlier in the year, but the band matchup certainly will. The Golden Band from Tigerland only sent a pep band to Tuscaloosa for the earlier matchup, while the Million Dollar Band was at full strength, possibly boasting more band fronts than LSU had members that day. Each band will be in full force in New Orleans, not just in the Superdome, but all over town. With a game of this caliber, expect each of these Sudler Trophy recipients to have a busy engagement calendar. Both bands will likely hit the French Quarter (possibly both on official business and recreational time) and strains of Hold that Tiger and Yea, Alabama will be heard throughout the Big Easy. And while LSU has a home state advantage, I'm sure Tide fans will roulent into NO in droves as well. There's no questioning the acumen of either football team or band. This is truly a national championship caliber matchup for all 80 minutes.

A few items of note: While Alabama uses the Million Dollar Band moniker, this will truly be a million dollar matchup. Travel, hotel, and most notably the seats that each band will have to purchase to occupy for the game itself, the pricetag for this game between the two bands will be nearly one million dollars (h/t to Dave over at Tailgating Ideas for pointing that one out to me).

Secondly, a pair of Sudler Trophy-winning bands have met in the BCS Championship game three times before. Each of those previous matchups included one of the teams that will play on Monday night. The Golden Band from Tigerland has twice marched into the Superdome against another Sudler winner with a national championship on the line; they faced the Pride of Oklahoma in 2004 and TBDBITL in 2008. The Million Dollar Band made their way to the pinnacle of pageantry, facing Texas' Showband of the Southwest in the Rose Bowl in 2010. In each case, the teams linked to these bands emerged with a championship.

Alabama:

LSU:

B4: 2012 Discover Orange Bowl - West Virginia vs. Clemson

2011-12-31T23:59:00.001-05:00

B4: 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl - Michigan vs. Virginia Tech

2011-12-31T23:58:00.001-05:00

B4: 2012 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Stanford vs. Oklahoma State

2011-12-31T23:57:00.001-05:00

B4: 2012 Rose Bowl presented by Vizio - Wisconsin vs. Oregon

2011-12-31T23:56:00.002-05:00

B4: 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl - Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois

2011-12-30T12:00:00.001-05:00

B4: 2012 BBVA Compass Bowl - SMU vs. Pittsburgh

2011-12-30T11:59:00.001-05:00

Depending on whose lawyers are bigger and stronger in Big East realignment, this may actually be a conference matchup in 2013. SMU's Mustang Band is certainly on its way in in 2013; When Pitt and its Varsity Marching Band get to exit is anyone's guess.

SMU:

Pittsburgh:

B4: 2012 AT&T Cotton Bowl - Kansas State vs. Arkansas

2011-12-30T11:58:00.001-05:00

B4: 2012 Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl - Ohio State vs. Florida

2011-12-30T11:57:00.003-05:00

B4: 2012 Capital One Bowl - Nebraska vs. South Carolina

2011-12-30T11:56:00.001-05:00

B4: 2012 Outback Bowl - Michigan State vs. Georgia

2011-12-30T11:55:00.001-05:00

B4: 2012 TicketCity Bowl - Houston vs. Penn State

2011-12-30T11:54:00.001-05:00

B4: 2011 Chick Fil-A Bowl: Virginia vs. Auburn

2011-12-30T11:53:00.001-05:00

B4: 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl - Illinois vs. UCLA

2011-12-30T11:52:00.001-05:00

B4: 2011 AutoZone Liberty Bowl - Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt

2011-12-30T11:51:00.001-05:00

B4: 2011 Hyundai Sun Bowl - Georgia Tech vs. Utah

2011-12-23T12:00:00.001-05:00

B4: 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas - Texas A&M vs. Northwestern

2011-12-23T11:58:00.003-05:00

B4: 2011 Insight Bowl - Iowa vs. Oklahoma

2011-12-23T11:58:00.001-05:00

B4: 2011 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl - Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest

2011-12-23T11:57:00.001-05:00

B4: 2011 New Era Pinstripe Bowl - Rutgers vs. Iowa State

2011-12-23T11:56:00.001-05:00

B4: 2011 Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl - BYU vs. Tulsa

2011-12-23T11:55:00.001-05:00

B4: 2011 Valero Alamo Bowl - Washington vs. Baylor

2011-12-23T11:54:00.000-05:00

B4: 2011 Champs Sports Bowl - Florida State vs. Notre Dame

2011-12-23T11:53:00.002-05:00

B4: 2011 Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl - California vs. Texas

2011-12-23T11:52:00.001-05:00

B4: 2011 Military Bowl presented by Northrup Grumman - Toledo vs. Air Force

2011-12-23T11:51:00.001-05:00

B4: 2011 Belk Bowl - Louisville vs. NC State

2011-12-16T12:00:00.004-05:00

B4: 2011 Little Caesar's Bowl - Western Michigan vs. Purdue

2011-12-16T11:59:00.002-05:00

B4: 2011 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl - Missouri vs. North Carolina

2011-12-16T11:58:00.004-05:00

B4: 2011 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl - Nevada vs. Southern Miss

2011-12-16T11:57:00.002-05:00

B4: 2011 MAACO Las Vegas Bowl - Arizona State vs. Boise State

2011-12-16T11:56:00.004-05:00

B4: San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl - TCU vs. Louisiana Tech

2011-12-16T11:55:00.003-05:00

B4: 2011 Beef O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl - FIU vs. Marshall

2011-12-16T11:54:00.003-05:00

B4: 2011 R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - San Diego State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

2011-12-16T11:53:00.005-05:00

B4: 2011 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - Ohio vs. Utah State

2011-12-16T11:52:00.003-05:00

B4: 2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl - Temple vs. Wyoming

2011-12-16T11:51:00.003-05:00

The Big Band Bowl Battle: Before the B4

2011-12-15T19:30:00.002-05:00

Tis the season. Bowl season is upon us. You may be suffering the irritable bowl syndrome of too many bowls, you may be celebrating the fact that it's football's final hurrah, and you may be making your selections in various pick 'em pools about the outcomes of games in which you've got moderate to no interest.

Have we got the action for you!

80 Minutes of Regulation is proud to present the Big Band Bowl Battle, or B4. In addition to a pair of football teams, each bowl matches up two fanbases, two traditions, and of course two marching bands. the B4 will go through ALL 35 bowl games and preview the band matchup with a quick synopsis and footage from YouTube for your viewing pleasure. Be on the look out for the previews on the following dates:

12/17-12/27 (Gildan New Mexico Bowl - Belk Bowl): Friday, 12/16
12/28-12/31 (Military Bowl presented by Northrup Grumman - Hyundai Sun Bowl): Friday, 12/23
12/31-1/8, non-BCS (AutoZone Liberty Bowl - GoDaddy.com Bowl): Friday, 12/30
All BCS Bowls: Sunday, 1/1/2012

Worth noting this season: Five bowls match up two Sudler Trophy-winning bands, up from four last year and on par with the 2009 season, which also had a dual Sudler national championship game in Alabama-Texas. This year, two Sudlers duke it out in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (Illinois vs. UCLA), Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas (Northwestern vs. Texas A&M), Insight Bowl (Iowa vs. Oklahoma), Outback Bowl (Michigan State vs. Georgia) and the National Championship Game (Alabama vs. LSU).

Be on the look out for previews of these and all of the bowl games, and happy bowl season!

A Familiar Tune in the Marching 100

2011-12-14T21:09:00.000-05:00

Three have been arrested at FAMU in conjunction with a hazing incident that left a band member with a broken leg. The hazing was related to membership in the Red Dawg Order, a group in no way sanctioned by but tied to the Marching 100 that accepts band members from Georgia.

I actually typically show a good deal of restraint with respect to the language used in this blog. That said, this shit must stop.

I stated before that the "death penalty"--shutting the program down for a number of years--may be the necessary course of action, and despite my love for the 100 and their style of marching, I'm even more sure of it now. I can, to some degree, appreciate the sentiment that this is taking place as a wrong of passage into other organizations, not the 100 itself, but frankly, my response is no different. While it may be cutting out healthy tissue to erradicate a cancer, it is absolutely what must be done. While these section fraternities, affinity groups, auxiliaries, and other entities are not a part of the Marching 100, it seems they have not been made inimical enough to deter their appeal. You know how you keep this mess from your program? Declare any group with a known history of hazing--and sadly, that seems to be the bulk of them--persona non grata to anyone with any association with the 100. Make any reference to these groups, paraphernalia, throwing up signs, or otherwise repping a group known to be an enemy of the 100 a suspendable offense. Anyone choosing to get involved will have to choose against the very reason such groups are appealing in the first place: The Marching 100. It needs to be crystal clear: You cannot stand for both.

So where do we go from here? Some will come down to who knew what and when. Dr. White, Director of Bands, was placed on administrative leave and scheduled to be dismissed on December 22 (because of a collective bargaining agreement in place). After lawyers got involved, White was un-dismissed (though the leave remained), a move that I thought was at best simply legal prudence to cover their backsides, and at worst a foolish maneuver geared towards protecting the band at all costs. As the story continues to be told, however, it seems that White warned against hazing in the band, even going so far as to recommend not taking the band to the Florida Classic, the very trip upon which Robert Champion died. It may be possible that there was some protecting of the throne taking place here, but it may not have been on the part of Dr. White. A recent discovery uncovered possible "employee fraud and misconduct" at the university as well, so it's possible we've only begun to scrape the surface. University president James Ammons, who had initially fired White, was publicly reprimanded by the Board of Trustees, a censure that took place in lieu of the administrative leave that was originally on the table. Depending on who knew what, that may need to be reconsidered.

On the part of Dr. White, the biggest piece I'd like to know is what all was done to prevent hazing in the band. In a video that I'm having trouble re-finding, White is heard emphatically telling the listeners that he said time and time again "do not haze". But was he equally emphatic about submitting to hazing? Even a definition on exactly what hazing is? I can appreciate that it seems White has been steadfast in punishing those caught hazing, and even reactions such as suggesting the band not go to the Classic, how proactive has he been? I don't know the answer to this, but to me it is key in if you can even consider keeping him employed by the university.

Because of the timing of the two, those who follow both activities couldn't help but draw parallels between this and the situation at Penn State. Both were despicable in their own right--one involved child molestation and the other led to the death of a young man. True enough, Julian White is no Joe Paterno--that distinction would go to his predecessor and mentor Dr. William P. Foster--but both sat atop an enterprise which, based on its prestige, some felt the need to protect at all costs. At FAMU, any number of previous incidents had been "handled internally," a strategy which, among other things, is built to protect the most prestigious entity on campus at the expense of the victims. Shortly after White's now-revoked firing, supporters protested on campus for reinstatement, not unlike Paterno. And in each case, regardless of legal proceedings, lawsuits will abound, and sadly, the only real winner will be the lawyers.

Army-Navy: Tradition at its finest

2011-12-10T10:47:00.002-05:00

I think I really dropped the ball on this one; I maintain a spreadsheet of band travel games from each week, I follow college football, and I have solid ties to both Philly and DC. Yet somehow, I missed that this year's Army-Navy game is in DC (OK, Landover), not Philly. The kicker? I'm in DC (OK, Alexandria) as we speak. I'm up here because my brother, himself a soldier in the US Army is on this coast briefly between training in AZ and his next duty station in WA, and we're gathering with family at my grandma's. So while we may have made plans to go, we'll watch on TV, if at all.

The Big Everywhere (That's What She Said) Conference

2011-12-09T13:16:00.000-05:00

The Big East has finally made the moves necessary to come out on the plus side, at least numbers-wise, in the conference expansion game. The conference announced earlier this week that UCF, Houston, and SMU will join as all-sports members, while Boise State and San Diego State will join as football only members. With expansion as far as the West Coast, I'm henceforth referring to the Big East as the Big Everywhere (That's What She Said) conference.

With that, I'm not being the sort saying "Hurr, Big EAST, huh?" After all, if I were a stickler for definitions, I'd have to feel the same way about a ten team Big XII, a twelve team Big Ten, a Pac-12 with teams from states that don't touch the Pacific, or a Southeastern Conference that stretches into Texas and Missouri (though at least there's historical precedent for them aligning themselves with the Southeastern US). That said, I like my conferences with some semblance of regionality, and while I first suspended my disbelief with TCU was Big East bound, Boise State and SDSU are a bit of a stretch for me. Still, if it keeps the conference viable, I certainly can't protest it.

A few interesting facts: First of all, there's no debating that the conference is weaker than it was before the defection of WVU, Syracuse and Pitt. That can'at be helped. Still, the Big East likely picked up some of the best available in their attempt to stay afloat. Boise State, of course, is a perennial BCS buster; Houston almost made it to the party this year; and SDSU, SMU, and UCF have showed flashes of promise as well. Recruiting-wise, the state now has schools in talent-rich Florida, Texas, and southern California. And in a conference with schools in all four time zones that literally stretches from sea to shining sea, there's plenty of regional interest and big media markets. Still, in most cases, the schools in the conference are also-rans in their respective markets.

As a USF fan, I'll have to concede that nearby nuisance UCF will become nearby conference rival UCF; the folks over at Voodoo Five address that well here.

There's one more wrinkle: While I think it's simply talk right now, there has been discussion of the BCS doing away with auto-bids, meaning that the allure of being in an AQ conference is no more. If this comes to pass, will the western edges of the conference stick around or head for nearer pastures?

BOTR Game of the Week: Championship Week

2011-12-03T11:16:00.000-05:00

It's championship weekend! Four of the six AQ conferences are holding (or at this point, have held) championship games this weekend; a fifth, the Big XII, will crown a champion on the field during Bedlam, and the Big East championship will be decided today s well, though not through a direct matchup.

On the band front, each championship scenario hask at least one Sudler band in the mix except for the ACC. The SEC matches two against one another in UGA's Redcoat Band and LSU's Golden Band from Tigerland. But for my game of the week, I'm headed up north to the inaugural Big Ten championship game as Wisconsin's Badger Band meets the Michigan State Spartan Marching Band. I was asked on Twitter this week which band was the better band in this matchup, and while I haven't seen both live, I know from having seen the Badger Band that they are barrels of fun and bring entertainment in spades. I've conceptualized them as the band most likely to mount cupholders on each of their drums. That said, Michigan State's got a Sudler and puts on an impressive show in their own right. Bands, take the field!

It's worth noting that while they probably think of this more as a sporting event, this is one more piece of the impressive niche Indianapolis has carved for itself as an epicenter of the marching arts world. The city that hosts the DCI World Championships, BOA Grand Nationals, and PASIC now adds a pair of Big Ten heavyweights each year.

High Notes 2011: Week 13

2011-11-30T17:31:00.000-05:00

It's was Thanksgiving weekend, and everyone's getting leftover high notes recognitions. I've got quite a few to pass out:

They already got their own post, but I'd like to hand it to both Southern and Grambling for showing up and showing out in the Bayou Classic. And again, big ups to NBC Sports for their coverage.

Secondly, I'll revisit Tegas and Texas A&M, who got Game of the Week honors this past week. They met for the last time in football for the foreseeable future, and were part of the backdrop in a great piece by Spencer Hall from Every Day Should be Saturday.

Finally, I intended to say earlier that as football and basketball season overlap, it was not inconceivable to see me pull a recognition from the pep band ranks. Well, I stayed in the marching band world with this one, but it comes from a basketball game. I watched UNCG and NC A&T face off this week for Greensboro bragging rights. It was an A&T home game in the Greensboro Coliseum, and I was pleasantly surprised that they brought not just a pep band, but the entire Blue and Gold Marching Machine. They some headbussas:

Playoffs?!

2011-11-30T13:05:00.000-05:00

There are plenty of reasons for a playoff in major college football, and it's a topic I've explored before. I tend to before for one in theory, my favorite model being the four team playoff (aka "plus one"); still there's always been one piece of it that doesn't resonate with me, and that piece may be rearing its ugly head as we speak.

As we head into championship weekend, the internet is abuzz with rumors that the Big Ten is hiring seat-fillers for its inaugural championship game in Indianpolis where Wisconsin will face Michigan State.While I don't know if this is true or not, it wouldn't be a unique occurrence; the ACC championship game has featured empty seats, especially when held on the outskirts of the conference in Florida. The Pac-12 is starting its games at campus sites with the hope of avoiding exactly that. But if you're team's playing for the throne in your conference, why on earth wouldn't you be there?

Because you're looking down the road. Especially in this tight economy, folks are making decisions with their entertainment dollars, and it makes attending multiple travel games difficult. Let's take Wisconsin and Michigan State. The winner of this game will be headed to the Rose Bowl, but the loser won't end up too bad off, and will probably find themselves booking flights to Florida New Year's Day bowl game, given the Big Ten's tie-ins. If you can only make it to one, where are you headed? This problem is exacerbated many times over with the addition of any playoff scenario, even just a plus-one. More than perhaps any other sport, college football is about the fans, the tailgating, the marching bands, the cheerleaders, and all sorts of other elements to create the full experience we know and love as college football. When you add the potential of two more travel games--in some conferences in addition to their conference championship game--you make it prohibitive for fans to attend, especially students and recent alumni. With the playoffs looming, will we see more empty seats at conference championship games, or vice versa?

i would make and continue to make the argument that someone needs to be done to the current system, but I hope that if/when this is considered, all of these pieces are part of the picture as well. Those trying to sell the idea of a playoff to the media have pushed the idea that the additional games would make money hand over fist in TV revenue. And while that may be the case, I'd hate to see the live element suffer because of it.

NBC: Network for Band Coverage

2011-11-27T22:01:00.000-05:00

I've lauded NBC before for their online coverage of the halftime shows for Notre Dame football. This weekend, they get continued respect from me for more of the same. NBC televised the Bayou Classic between Southern and Grambling, and while I didn't watch the live telecast, i know that at the very least, the marching bands got coverage on NBCsports.com, much in the same manner Notre Dame enjoys. While I'm sure there are contracts compelling them to do such in each case, they seem to take a little more pride in the craft than, say, the lip service the Worldwide Leader gives band coverage when commanded. In fact, moreso than the Notre Dame games, it seems that the production crew for the Bayou Classic was truly trying ot use the various shots to portray both bands in the best light. The ENTIRE field show was available in each case, and even better, they remain available online.

Southern Univeresity Human Jukebox:

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Grambling State University World-Famed Tiger Marching Band:

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

NBC, I salute you.

I'm Calling It Boscov's

2011-11-24T07:48:00.000-05:00

Mets fans who don't acknowledge this new-fangled business they call "Citi Field" have t-shirt that say "I'm Calling It Shea", in honor of the Mets' old home. Other cities have similar sentiments that wax nostalgic for their former stadiums. As a fan of the 6abc Thanksgiving Day Parade, currently presented by Dunkin Donuts, I need a similar shirt: I'm Calling It Boscov's.

My wife and I are hosting Thanksgiving here in Greensboro this year. While I'm unsure how many times we'll be able to pull this off (we usually go on the road to Maryland and Delaware), it being our daughter's first Thanksgiving certainly helps. The Boscov's Parade, not the Macy's Parade, was always my Thanksgiving parade of choice, due in no small part to the fact that the Alexis I. duPont Tiger Marching Band does it each year. I marched in it myself for three years, and I think I speak for most Tiger Band alumni when I say the memories of that cold stick with you. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, it'll be coming into my home today, despite being well outside the typical viewing area. The Tiger Marching Band and the City of Brotherly Love will indeed make it to my screen, and for that I am thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!

BOTR Game of the Week, Week 13

2011-11-23T14:39:00.000-05:00

Goodbye to texas university
So long to the orange and the white... -Aggie War Hymn, Texas A&M University

Texas fight, Texas fight,
And it's goodbye to A&M... -Texas Fight, the University of Texas

For as long as they've known one another, Texas and Texas A&M have been bidding one another adieu. This week, they're singing it for keeps; following this year, Texas A&M will depart Texas' company in the Big XII for the SEC, and with that move, the 118 year rivalry will fall by the wayside for at least the forseeable future. The two will meet in College Station on Thanksgiving evening.

This was a tough week to call. As so many rivalry game take place at this time of year, this matchup was up against the likes of the Iron Bowl, the Bayou Classic, and Ohio State-Michigan. Still, I had to put this game forth for its historical significance. Farewell to the Lone Star Showdown.

One in 100

2011-11-23T00:36:00.001-05:00

I've talked a lot about the FAMU Marching 100 recently, and unfortunately, this time it is not good news. The Marching 100 are currently under suspension in the wake of the suspected hazing death of a drum major during Florida Classic weekend. 26 year old drum major Robert Champion became ill and died after returning to the hotel following the game.

Full disclosure. While I won't claim to be an expert, hazing is something that I have experience with from my day job. I work in the field of student affairs, specifically with campus programming and student organizations, and directly advise a programming board and a fraternity.

That this took place sickens me, and what sickens me more is that this is not a new phenomenon in the Marching 100. The suspension is the least possible punishment for what has allegedly taken place; if these allegations ring true, it becomes an imperative that the Marching 100 be shut down for a period of time.

Don't think for one second that I do not recognize the enormity of those words. While FAMU is a quality institution in many aspects, the 100 arguably helped put--and keep--the university on the map. FAMU is the first and to date the only HBCU to take home the vaunted Sudler Trophy for marching band excellence. The Marching 100 is one of the most respected, most televised, and most revered programs in the marching band world. I know that the loss of the 100 would be devastating to the university, and I don't take it lightly. but people are losing their LIVES over a breed of nonsense that appears to be entirely out of control, and it must come to an end. This would be the case with any other student organization that was this sort of repeat offender--fraternities have lost their charters for less--and it should be no different here. The FAMU Marching 100, as world-renowned as it may be, is not too big to fail.

While the NCAA has no jurisdiction here, I can't help but think, in light of recent infractions in the sports world, how they would handle this. To me, the fact that this is a pervasive problem points exactly to the "lack of institutional control" that is typically a harbinger to a death knell for athletic programs. An article from 2007, when the problem raised its ugly head once again, speaks as though it was a culture that band members and those around them came to expect and even accept. The first article mentions that earlier this year, 30 band members were let go due to hazing incidents. While I can appreciate their attempt to clean house, the fact that has become painfully evident here is that this is not an isolated incident, nor is it limited to a few members going rogue. It seems to be deeply ingrained in the culture of the 100.

As if to hammer this point home, let's take a look at this case. The victim here was a drum major. While FAMU marches six this year, and Champion was not the head drum major, it is clear that drum majors are at the top of the totem pole. Not that hazing is ever right, but the typical model is that leaders in an organization haze younger members so that they "earn their place." That this reached into the highest ranks of the organization makes is clear that there is no end in sight, which is particularly troubling.

I know that with such a prominent organization, there is a desire to circle the wagons and protect the throne. That cannot and should not happen here. As great a marching unit the 100 may be, they cannot put the image of a program over the life of an individual. Here's hoping they do right by Mr. Champion, the reputation of the band and university, and all who will not have to follow in the weary 8-to-5 footsteps marched by so many. Not only the individuals responsible, but also the Marching 100 as a whole must be held accountable.

Champions Division

2011-11-22T17:08:00.001-05:00

At the beginning of the year, I declared the SEC West my "All 80" Division. This isn't me patting myself on the back by any means. It doesn't take a leap of faith to proclaim excellence in a division that holds three of the last four national championships and holds four Sudler Trophies (adding a fifth when Texas A&M joins the league). Still I don't think anyone could have called where we sit now--with the top three teams in the BCS all hailing from a single division.

This fact comes close to guaranteeing an all-SEC West national championship game, and even allows for the outside possibility that three SEC teams could make the BCS. Currently in the driver's seats sit LSU and Alabama, who met up a few weeks ago in the GAME. OF. THE. CENTURY. While talk of a potential rematch between these two began before their game and continued afterwards, it's becoming close to reality, a fact which scares come. After all, the first game, a 9-6 LSU overtime victory, was a defensive struggle deemed boring by many. Much like mutant brother Cyclops and Havok, LSU and Alabama were unable to mount any offensive power against one another, and the fear is that we'd be up for more of the same in January with a rematch.

Sitting at #3 is Arkansas, who has the opportunity to play spoiler as they face LSU this weekend. They have sat all season in a role not unlike anyone not named the Yankees or Red Sox in the AL East until recent years: no matter how well they perform, they are sitting looking up at two behemoths who receive the glut of the media's attention. The Hogs hope to right that this Saturday.

Worth noting: These three SEC West teams occupy the top three spots. A fourth, Auburn, is the reigning national champion. Each of these four is a Sudler Trophy recipient. You know who has to feel worthless in all of this? The entire state of Mississippi. But it seems they are simply content with chanting "SEC!" like the rest and keeping it moving.

[CLASSIC] O-Town Showdown in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (where available)

2011-11-20T08:33:00.001-05:00

With the Florida Classic being the point of my focus this week (though unfortunately, due to ESPN Classic having technical difficulties, I didn't even get to watch it) I dug into the archives for a post I made just after attending the Florida Classic Battle of the Bands in the Fall of 2004. Before 80 Minutes of Regulation was ever thought of, I kept a LiveJournal, and while neither sports nor marching/athletic music were the focus, there are posts that speak to that. Here, with limited editing, is that original post.

Actually, there's no audio, but given the auditory nature of the subject matter, it seemed appropriate.

Last night I got the opportunity to see the Bethune-Cookman College Marching Wildcats and the Florida A&M University Marching 100 live for the first time. While I have seen both bands, it's a whole new experience seeing them in person!

What's that, you want to know Curtis' take on who's best of the rivalry? I think I'll give it to the 100, but let me tell you, it was the difference between ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and MORE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. That being said, I think in a battle of the drumlines, I would give it to BCC. A few specific stats on the comparison:
-Snare drums: Advantage: FAMU, but only slightly
-Quads: Advantage: FAMU; difference negligible.
-Cymbals: Advantage: BCC. Both cymbal squads were very impressive, but BCC got bonus point becuase they were slinging 18s, vs. FAMU's 16s. BCC did lose cool points, though, because there was one portion where their cymbal players were being cymbal stands for the snare players. They wre the only band all night to have made that transgression.
-Bass drums: Advantage: BCC by a long shot. They had all the flare of a HBCU band and all the chops and even tonal runs of the Blue Devils bassline. They were amazing.
-Tenors/field drums: Eh, who cares? BCC had chest mounters though, FAMU had strapped field drums.
Of those two, FAMU came out first. As they started out, a decent amount of people were coming out, but I thought they looked a little small. At first I thought they may have only brought a portion of their organization because they were on a 50 yard field (It was in the TD Waterhouse Center, home of Arena Football's Orlando Predators) and they are 300 strong. However, I soon realized that was just the drumline. They march 10 basses, 9 tenors, 10 quads, 4 cymbals, and 20 snares. Got damn. Other comparisons:
-Sousaphones: Advantage: FAMU. They marched 22 and BCC marched 24, but BCC's tone always suffered like they were overblowing.
-General arranging: FAMU. They even did this arrangement of the State Farm theme to commemorate the sponsors of the classic that was amazing.
-Technique/Drill/Choreography: FAMU, but it was close cuz BCC definitely put their thing down. And while drill was involved, there was very little actual marching drill, probably because it's tough to do things with 300ish people on a 50 yard field.
-BCC had the burden of having to dress their lines after their interest. There is no shame in having to dress lines, obviously, it's standard operating procedure. But when you perform after a band who came out in perfect formation and didn't have to adjust at all, it all of a sudden looks bad.

My one qualm with the 100 is that while their drum majors were all awesome showmen, I don't think they conducted anywhere at all. I have never been a fan of the drum major being merely an auxiliary performer/squad. There is no reason why your director should be conducting a field show, particularly when you have 9 drum majors. I am all for drum majors being the showmen they are, but I think that a drum majors primary responsibility is as a field commander and conductor.

As far as the high school bands were concerned, once we got to a certain point in the show, everything was excellent. There were a few bands in the beginning that probably bolstered what a bunch of corps style kids think about show style marching--they were all dancing and melody, no musicianship and considerably dimished marching skill and chops, in the drumline and otherwise. The better bands definitely did our style proud though. Many of the bands were from Florida, but there were bands from GA, NC, and even one from KS. I have never seen a significant amount of performances from HBHSes though, and after having done such, I can proudly say that the Alexis I. duPont High School Tiger Marching Band would have held their own, even without playing the latest radio hits or otherwise switching our swag up, we honestly would have represented.

I would have given the win (there was no winner. Despite the title, the battle of the bands was an exhibition, not a competition.) to this band from Morrill (sp?) GA. Best drumline would to go Frederick Douglass, from ATL.

Again, I turn to the pageantry of drum majors: There are some excellent things done with HBHS/HBCU and for that matter, Big Ten and other show style marching bands. I love the mace work, the backbends, and the other aspects of the performance. But what I'd love to see that there was none of would be a good ol' drum major salute. I feel like there's something in the salute that very much solidifies the drum majors position as the leader of the organization and is a sound acknowledgement both of the crowd and of his/her role as a representative of the band. All of this is going into my mental file, of course, for when I get to make a marching band of my own.

Anyway, as far as the evening was concerned, I was quite pleased, as were the people I went with, Ashlea, Stacy, Stacy's sorority sister Jernita and her son, and Stacy's friend Donna. Then again, you knew I would enjoy it, it's a band dork's dream. The one thing I would have changed is that it was 4 1/2 hours straight, with no breaks to speak of. There should have been a halftime--with a football game played during it.

BOTR Game of the Week, Week 12

2011-11-18T17:23:00.000-05:00

As you may have noted, there's no High Notes for this past week. Plans kept me from watching too much football.

A few weeks ago, there was no need to ask anyone what the game of the week was. The buzz was everywhere. The game of the week was the GAME. OF. THE. CENTURY.--LSU vs. Alabama, #1 vs #2, in an SEC West matchup that may very well determine one of the national championship competitors.

My Band on the Road Game of the Week this week is a similar no-brainer. the incomparable FAMU Marching 100 and the estimable Marching Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University. For those unfamiliar, the two will meet in the Florida Classic, an annual rivalry game between the two HBCUs and MEAC conferencemates played in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL. Tonight, both bands, as well as numerous high schools, will participate in the Battle of the Bands in the Amway Center, and of course on Saturday, there'll be much to be had from both bands throughout the game, in the 5th, and, of course, halftime.

While you've heard me rail against ESPN for their band coverage, I'll give a bit of credit here. Their YouTube page has a couple of videos from the Classic and the Battle of the Bands in years past:

BOTR Game of the Week: Week 11

2011-11-12T11:52:00.000-05:00

This week, there are a few matchups that feature bands that I've already recognized this season, so in the interest of spreading the love, I'm going to take it out west to the same place where College Gameday is today: Oregon at Stanford. While travel in the Pac-12 is relatively thin (outside of USC, who attends every game) this game is one that stood out to me as strategic. Oregon likely expected, correctly, that this game would certainly have implications in the Pac-12 North and potentially in both the conference and national championship pictures.

Full disclosure: I don't entirely get scramble bands like the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band. Maybe it's because most schools who employ them may have been reach schools for me. As you know, it is my primary belief that a marching band should thrill an audience, which scramble bands typically do, but for me, one half of the marching band picture is, of course, the marching. Still, there's something to be said for their humor and irreverance, and they certainly know how to have a good time. And as for Oregon? Well, how many marching bands do you know fully outfitted in Nike?

One more piece that deserves mentioning: Many eyes will be on State College, PA today for reasons that I'm sure are obvious to readers or anyone up on current events. Still, it's worth noting something else that will take place today. Penn State will welcome Nebraska to Beaver Stadium for the first time as a conference foe, and as such they will get the standard salute from the Blue Band, who added to the books this season the Nebraska fight song.

High Notes 2011: Week 10

2011-11-12T11:16:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was the first in a while where I truly spent an entire Saturday in front of college football, so I think I've got a pretty solid slate to go on. I'm giving the week's recognition to the Badger Band for a stalwart performance as Wisconsin hosted Purdue. With the whooping the Badgers put on the Boilermakers, there were plenty of opportunities for the Badger Band to state their case.

For other band action that caught my eye, you need look no further than the GAME. OF. THE. CENTURY. between LSU and Alabama. While I still shake my head at the fact that for a game of this magnitude, LSU couldn't/didn't bring the whole band, their pep band numbered probably around 100 and was still formidable. On the other side of the field, 100 was probably the number of what seemed like scores and scores of band fronts for Bama. They all seemed to be pretty stereotypically beautiful, and it looked like they had the "instrumentation" I'm most used to: poms, twirlers and silks. And as the game ended with LSU's third successful field goal the members of the Golden Band played All I Do Is Win. I don't know if LSU is one of the bands that has parodied the Rammer Jammer cher in the past, but I'm not sure they would have gotten out alive from this one.

Seeing Red

2011-11-06T23:55:00.000-05:00

First of all, quick housekeeping note: I'm sure you're used to finding 80 Minutes of Regulation via the Blogspot site. I'm pleased to announce that the site's got its own doman, http://www.80minutesofregulation.com.

This weekend USF football played what is probably the team I hate most in the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. It's not a game I think of as a rivalry; while I contend USF doesn't have any true rivals, I'd name Louisville and Cincinnati, our longtime conferencemates, in a pinch, with an outside nod to West Virginia, as I'd like to think we get under their skin a bit. But Rutgers? I just plain don't like them, and I hate to lose to them, which sadly, we did again this weekend on an overtime field goal. Someone asked me this weekend why I hate the State University of New Jersey, and I've got a couple of reasons.

Proximity This may seem a strange reason for a school in Florida to hate a school in New Jersey, but hear me out. First of all, it's not hard to trace migration patterns from northern New Jersey/New York to the Tampa Bay area. In fact, the Bulls play right across the way from the spring home of the New York Yankees. Plus, I grew up in Delaware, so New Jersey has always been on the wrong side of the bridge.

Key Games There have been a couple of key games in the history of the USF-Rutgers that really stick in my craw. There's the 2006 game in Tampa, after which the Scarlet Knights desecrated our turf with their locker room chant. There's the trip to Rutgers in 2007 where we lost our #2 ranking amidgst Schiano's explosive bitching and moaning and a bogus "illegal forward propulsion" call that lost us the game. Given the way we salted away last night's game, it may go on the list soon.

General Annoyingness Any number of things can fit into this category, but I'll attempt to narrow it down. There is, of course, the aforementioned locker room chant. There's the glorification of the Bon Jovi Kid, some little Rutgers fan who rocks out in the stand when they play Jersey's Own. If I may draw an analogy, much in the same way a coach may go for it on 4th down because he doesn't trust his field goal kicker, you only rely so heavily on the loudspeakers and Jumbotron features if you don't trust your band. Theres the billboard Rutgers football erected not too far from USF's campus. These and more make Rutgers a general annoyance.

Ironically, I sit here on Sunday night rooting on the Baltimore Ravens as they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, and while I'm cheering for his pro team, I still can't stand Rutgers' Ray Rice.

Moving Hardware

2011-11-05T17:30:00.002-04:00

We all know that the near-sole driver for college sports realignment is football. Surely it's got implications in all sports, but with football being far and away the most lucrative, it drives the bus. After the fact, folks start taking a look at how the realignment will play out in basketball and the other sports; naturally, I'm looking at the band angle, from the perspective of what realignment means for the number of Sudler Trophy winners in each conference. I'm looking at the current phase, starting with the realignment that started last year and touched the Big Ten, Big XII, and Pac 10/12 and continued this year to the ACC, Big East, and SEC.

ACC: ±0 to 0 While the ACC has added two schools for the 2014 season (or sooner) in Syracuse and Pittsburgh, neither bring a Subler Trophy with them, keeping the Atlantic Coast Conference without.

Big East: -1 to 0* In the most recent expansion move, the Big East loses its one Sudler winner, West Virginia, to the Big XII. The asterisk is that Notre Dame, the 2011 winner remains in the conference; however, since the Sudler is a marching band award, and marching band is inextricably tied to football, I don't think the conference can claim the Domers.

Big Ten: +1 to 10 The stacked just get, um, stacked-er? The Big Ten's most recent expansion was as much a marching coup as anything. they picked up Nebraska, who in addition to a strong football program brings their Sudler Trophy-winning marching band, giving the Big Ten a phenomenal 10 of 12 members holding hardware.

Big XII -1 to 5 The formerly 12 member Big XII has undergone the most flux during this round of expansion; they lose two Sudler holders in Texas A&M and Nebraska, but their newest pickup, West Virginia, comes holding one. The jury's still out on whether or not Mizzou is headed to the SEC, but it's irrelevant to their Sudler picture

Pac-12: ±0 to 2 Pickups of Utah and Colorado didn't change the Pac-12's Sudler picture; Arizona State and UCLA remain the two league schools with a trophy.

SEC: +1 to 6 By adding Texas A&M, the SEC goes to 6 Sudler Trophy winners. With no division adjustments, five of those teams are in the SEC West, leaving that division about as stacked as either of the Big Ten divisions; however, common belief is that with Mizzou headed to the SEC, Auburn will be headed to the Eastern division, leaving the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry holding the two trophies in the East. Editor's note: It seems Mizzou will defy geography and become an SEC East team, leaving the SEC West with five teams.

Out side of the BCS auto-qualifiers, the one FBS conference that comes out on top in the Sudler Trophy shift is the MAC. Starting in 2013, UMass, one of the three non-BCS schools to win a Sudler, will be making the jump to FBS ball and bring its trophy with it to the MAC for matchups with the likes of the Ohio University Marching 110 and the bands of the MAC.

Band on the Road: Midseason(ish) Check-In

2011-11-03T10:18:00.000-04:00

The Band on the Road Project, which I began this summer, has been a labor of love for me. I started with scouring the internet for college marching band schedules, and what could very well have been a static document now has an at-least-weekly life,as new game times are announced and as I put out my BOTR Game of the Week posts. All in all, even if no one else is using it, it has been helpful and honestly fun for me to have this resource available.

I was reminded leading into this week why this can be quite the useful tool. Leading into the consensus game of the season, LSU at Alabama, I wondered if anything had changed about the status of band travel. First of all, LSU had never posted their calendar on the band website; I learned of their band's travel plans via Twitter. Knowing that this was the largest game of the season, I didn't know if the travel reported--a pep band--remained accurate. On the one hand, with a game of this magnitude, it would be advantageous to have the entire Golden Band from Tigerland present. On the other, I'm sure the folks at Alabama would have absolutely no trouble selling the seats the additional band members would take up. It took a lot of digging and asking, but I was finally able to confirm that only the LSU pep band will be present. The Band on the Road database contains this information for all who seek it. So while it's far from perfect and only as conclusive as information available allows, I remain committed to the belief that it's a great tool to have out there.

BOTR Game of the Week: Week 10

2011-11-03T10:01:00.000-04:00

To hear the sports media and blogosphere tell it, there are no games this week, save for the 1-2 matchup of LSU and Alabama. I really wanted to make this my game of the week as well. After all, if both bands were present, this game has it all: The top two teams in the nation, a heated rivalry, an SEC night game, and two high performing, Sudler Trophy winning bands. Sadly, this is not to be. After chasing this information all up and down the internet, I got confirmation of what I knew from the beginning of the season but hoped had changed: LSU is only sending a pep band to this game. Since I give the strong edge to games with both bands in full attendance, sadly, LSU-Bama is off the list.

I set my sights instead on the only other (to my knowledge) game this week featuring two Sudler Trophy winning bands: Texas Tech's Goin' Band from Raiderland at Texas' Showband of the Southwest. While Texas' band has never impressed me much, I'm a big fan of the Goin' Band. Let's take a look at this showdown in the Lone Star State:

High Notes 2011: Week 9

2011-11-03T09:42:00.000-04:00

After a couple of weeks away for various reasons, I was back in front of a screen for a significant portion of Saturday. One of the games I took in was the World's Largest Outdoor [redacted] Party, and from that game comes my High Notes recognition. This is another case of to the victor goes the spoils; both bands were strong, from what I could see, but the University of Georgia, in a winning effort, got more chance to shine, so this week, I'm recognizing UGA's Redcoat Marching Band.

You may have heard me malign the Redcoats before, and true enough, they were my second favorite of the two bands in the venue where I saw them, but to be fair, that venue was the 2005 Outback Bowl, their opponent was Wisconsin, and I've got a strong traditional style bias. Even then, while their marching style bored me when juxtaposed with Wisconsin's stop-at-the-top chair step, they were a force to be reckoned with in the stands. The small snippets (surprisingly more than I was expecting) that we saw of their halftime on CBS led me to believe they were formidable at halftime as well.

Information and Belief

2011-11-01T22:31:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure what exactly those two words mean, together, in the legal sense, but West Virginia sure used them a lot.

ESPN posted the full text of WVU's lawsuit of the Big East, filed in West Virginia. The long and short of it is that the Big East, through the ineptness of its commissioner, had failed all good faith towards the fiduciary interests of its members (WVU, in this case) and such constitutes a breach of contract; as such, WVU should be let out of their contract early, instead of having to endure the 27 month waiting period to which they and all conference members agreed.

Despite my rant on the subject, West Virginia makes some good points in their suit. The thing is, what they sell is how the Big East was poor to them (and us all), and why it is in their best interest to leave. They do not make a compelling argument for why they should be allowed to leave by July 1, 2012, save for one: They apparently put forth a proposal for early exit with a fee, and the Big East took the fee. That said, there is no evidence to confirm or deny that this fee exceeded what they owed for resigning from the conference.

West Virginia's primary argument for their early departure is that athe currently-crumbling Big East isn't what they signed up for. The thing is, until the departure of Syracuse and Pitt--and there's no indication they are seeking a waiver of their timeline--and/or until the Big East loses its BCS AQ, which would be 2013 at the earliest, the conference is precisely what they signed up for, or at least what they've been competing in for the past six years. No significant change takes place at their desired departure date of 7/1/2012, and as such, there is no impetus for that date. In fact, a departure at that time, leaving the Big East at seven members and unable to compete as a BCS AQ conference, would be fiduciarily irresponsible to the other conference members beholden to them. It would make great grounds for a countersuit.

Interesting fact that I'm just going to stick here: In this round of conference expansion, the Big XII actually made the first extraregional step by inviting WVU. The Pac-12 stayed in their lane with two other western schools; the Big Ten stuck to the midwest with Nebraska; Pennsylvania and New York are certainly reasonable for the ACC; even the SEC's pickup of Texas A&M and alleged pending addition of Mizzou stuck to contiguous states. West Virginia is an exclave in the Big XII, roughly 900 miles from its closest conferencemates. Of course, I say this as a USF alum, so perhaps I should shut my mouth.

Moving forward...

The Big East apparently plans to start handing out bids: Boise State, Air Force, and Navy as football only members, and SMU, UCF, and Houston as full members. I don't know at this point who will accept, but I think I may be at the acceptance stage of grief with Boise State and Air Force. After all, as football only members, they are only going to have to travel to 4/5 out-of-time zone conference games a year--a hardship to be sure, but not as much as it would be for an all sports membership. They're no stranger to having to fly in the Mountain West conference, and hell, Air Force has their own planes. I've even made my peace with adding UCF, though I fear that as a conferencemate, they may actually beat us at some point. And selfishly, having plenty of business in Maryland, I like the potential of a Navy addition. With only five remaining football schools when the dust settles, there will be a need for a seventh pickup, if the goal is twelve teams and a conference championship; I'm rooting for ECU (again, selfishly) but think that either Temple or a Villanova call-up are more likely--again, not outside of my mid-Atlantic sphere of influence. And while I hold out little hope at this time for a conference that's had the sword of Damocles hanging over its head for some time now, I clearly would like to see this work.

Making Plans

2011-10-30T17:52:00.000-04:00

My wife and daughter'll be out of town next weekend, and I'm trying to figure out what I'll do with myself in their absence. After entertaining the stereotypical offerings of sleep, steak, beer, and football, I also looked at what is going on in the area as well. Turns out there are a couple of band competitions within reach--a battle of the bands down in Climax, and Carolina Crown's BandBEAT down at Gardner-Webb. Boiling Springs is a bit far, but I'm still considering the show in Archdale. But as I sit and think about attending either contest, I realize: By and large, high school competitions aren't my thing.

Maybe that comes as a surprise, maybe it doesn't. After all, one doesn't necessarily expect a fan of the NFL or college football to show up at the local high school game. That speaks, of course, to level of competition, and that's certainly part of it, but moreso, it's that I'm a bit of a transplant to the competitive marching world. 2004 was when I started following DCI regularly, and it wasn't until after that that I ventured into competitive marching band. Sure enough, my high school band could compete with anyone, but we typically did one music festival competition each year, not a competitive circuit like TOB or BOA. As a traditional style native who has always been far more concerned with a band that thrills an audience than one who aims to please the judges. And while I don't know the competing bands in either of these contests, I think it's a safe bet that a critical mass of those participating will be of the latter variety. As a musician and former band member myself, I can most certainly appreciate what these bands put on the field, but by and large, unless I've got a tie to one of the bands on the field, I'm likely to sit it out.

BOTR Game of the Week, Week 9

2011-10-28T11:35:00.001-04:00

So as you may have noticed, no High Notes for Week 8. Once again, my schedule didn't allow for a whole lot of football watching.

I'm making this week's Band on the Road Game of the Week the Shreveport Classic, a SWAC showdown between the conference's two Honda representatives, Jackson State's Sonic Boom of the South and Prairie View A&M's Marching Storm. Let's take a look:

Familiar Looking Honda

2011-10-26T00:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday morning, the folks at the Honda Battle of the Bands released the bands invited to the 2012 Invitational Showcase. In the third year of the new, eight band format, the participants are:

Virginia State and Winston-Salem State (CIAA)
Bethune-Cookman and South Carolina State (MEAC)
Albany State (SIAC)
Jackson State and Prairie View A&M (SWAC)
Tennessee State (Independent)

Two primary observations: One is that the field is fairly balanced with respect to conference membership. Along with the change in number of participating bands (down to eight from ten) the manner in which conferences were represented changed as well. In the current format, each conference (and one independent) is guaranteed one representative, with the remaining three spots going to at-large bands. The first year of the new format saw three SIAC representatives, with the CIAA, MEAC, and Independents notching one participant apiece.

The second observation is that it looks quite familiar. In fact, there has been just one change from last year: Clark Atlanta is out, and Prairie View is in. This is a significant upgrade, and with all respect due to PVAMU, I don't mean that as a slight at Clark. It's purely opportunity based. After all, while folks travel from all over to attend Honda, bandheads in Atlanta have every opportunity to see CAU on a regular basis. Prairie View is more of a treat in that sense.

BOTR Game of the Week, Week 8

2011-10-21T17:11:00.001-04:00

While I'll try not to be one-dimensional, there are a few bands for which you've seen me express my love, either through High Notes or otherwise. It should come as no surprise, then, that this week's Game of the Week is a matchup between two sets of Tigers from the SEC West, as the No. 20 Auburn Tigers and AUMB visit the No. 1 LSU Tigers and the Golden Band from Tiger Land for an afternoon tilt in Death Valley. Which Tigers ya got?

The Expansion No One's Thinking Of

2011-10-18T12:42:00.000-04:00

As conference realignment continues to turn, the ACC may very well be looking to continue to expand their ranks. In doing so, it wouldn't be a bad idea to cast a line to a school that's been a successful independent and seems staunchly opposed to conference membership.

That's right. the ACC should offer a lacrosse-only membership to Johns Hopkins.

It's clear that conference expansion and realignment is driven by big time football, and lacrosse would be lucky to be third or fourth afterrthought. Still, reeling in the two biggest names in any given sport--they already got Syracuse--certainly can't be a bad thing. In addition to being one of the winningest and most followed programs in the sport, Hopkins has a TV contract that, while not nearly as lucrative, mirrors the one Notre Dame enjoys in football.

So why in the world would they want to join the ACC? Honestly, the biggest "why" is that the biggest "why not" has moved out of the way. As an independent, Hopkins is free to schedule who they wish, but not unlike Notre Dame football, they have a few staples on their schedule. They typically play each of the Baltimore schools, but beyond that, the regulars include College Park, UVA, and Syracuse. They can now have all of that in a conference schedule, plus throw in Duke and Carolina for good measure, and still have plenty of room to schedule UMBC, Loyola, Towson and the like. As for the ACC, with the Hopkins add, they move to six teams, the marker of a legitimate conference. While the ACC has never needed the auto-bid that comes with that, as all four schools are tournament perennials, it certainly adds to their dominance and makes their strength of schedule even more ridiculous. What's more--and I realize this is pie-in-the-sky--this may lead other ACC schools to look at adding or re-adding lacrosse.

I know it's not the biggest shake-up overall, but ACC, you want to keep making moves? Set your sights to North Charles.

Pause for the Cause

2011-10-17T13:09:00.002-04:00

While this post is relatively non-sequitur for this blog's typical coverage, I'm using my internet real estate to hopefully bring attention and/or funding to a cause about which I feel strongly.

I lost my friend Karen last summer to ovarian cancer. Several months later, due in no small part to Karen's partner, Beth, the inaugural Athena's Run took place in Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, NC. My wife and I participated last year, and unfortunately, due to our schedule, we are unable to walk/run this year. However, Karen's Krusaders will still be going strong and I am still fundraising on their behalf and in Karen's memory. I'd love it if you would c lick here and consider donating.

Gynecological cancers are a subset of cancer that includes ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and uterine cancer, among others. According to the Athena's Run site, a woman in this country is diagnosed every seven minutes, and sadly, 28,000 lose their battle each year. Athena's Run, now in its second year, raises funds for GYN cancer research through the Forsyth Medical Center.

Please don't misconstrue what I am about to say next, because I believe we should continue the fight towards the eradication of ALL cancers. Breast cancer awareness is well marketed. The color pink has become synonymous with the cause, and particularly now, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is ubiquitous, found everywhere from your local stores to NFL players on Sundays. I do believe that this level of awareness does help the cause of all cancers, but it is worth noting that GYN cancers, which similarly affect our mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, and friends are not nearly as well known. There's no catchy slogan (my working rallying cry is Save the Hoohas) and you'd be hard-pressed to find much in teal, the color of GYN cancer awareness. I hope that if you don't have the funds for the cause, you can at least join me in raising awareness.

BOTR Game of the Week

2011-10-15T01:08:00.000-04:00

Back at the beginning of the season, I said that I hoped to give you "more" this season. I think I've started to do that, especially with the Band on the Road Project, but I can't believe it's taking me until midseason to think to do a Game of the Week

A few caveats: Given the nature of this blog, the Game of the Week pick will be based just as much (ok, let's be honest, probably way more) on the band matchup as the football matchup. This means that I'm only focusing on games that have both bands present, as identified in the Band on the Road Project. Favor will of course go to full bands, so traveling pep bands will play second fiddle.

With all that said, in Week 7 I give you the Battle of the Bay: The HBCU rivalry between The Marching Force of Hampton University and Norfolk State's Spartan Legion. Behold (no pun intended):

In other news, with tonight being Midnight Madness at colleges across the country, pep band season is upon us. For schools with football, it likely represents a split in focus for the band folks, while schools without football begin their basketball season grind. All the best for those stepping into the stands tonight!

The Big East's Days are Numbered

2011-10-13T10:43:00.000-04:00

I've tried to avoid being the "sky is falling" USF/Big East fan, reacting to every new piece of conference realignment news as though it spells doom and gloom for the conference. But I'll be honest, the more I look at things that have transpired recently, the more I'm led to the conclusion that the Big East will soon cease to exist, at least in its current state as a BCS auto-qualifying conference.

First, I'll put up the counterpoint, which actually did make me feel a bit better. Over at Outkick the Coverage, Clay Travis believes that the Big East is unlikely to lose its bid. He makes a few compelling arguments, among them the lack of clear definition of the requirements of continued participation, the allegations of collusion on the part of ESPN (the BCS' TV partner) in the Syracuse and Pitt to the ACC deal, and perhaps most importantly, as an original member of the BCS cartel, they may know too much and it becomes a liability to jettison them.

Hopefully that rings true, because evidence to the contrary is mounting rapidly. Here are a few of the facts that I think may doom the conference:

The Big East can't stop the bleeding. Recently, we saw both the Big XII and the ACC rally its members and raise exit fees in an attempt to keep their respective members from being cherry picked by hungry conferences. The trouble is, that sort of move requires a vote of the membership. In the Big East, with everyone trying to get out to save their own skin, they are unlikely to raise this above the current $5 million, which has proven to be little deterrent.

Lack of schools that can add value. I'll admit that USF, Cincinnati, and Louisville proved six years ago that a non-AQ can rise to the occasion when picked up. Still, there have always been a number of "next in" possibilities for BCS expansion. These are the schools in non AQ conferences that have shown prolonged success and perhaps have made their way to the BCS on their own merit. The trouble is, that list is shrinking rapidly, as most have already made their way to AQ conferences. Utah's in the Pac-12. TCU, a former future Big East member, is now headed to the Big XII. Hawaii is a shell if what it was in the June Jones era. This leaves Boise State, who is allegedly being actively courted. This leads me to another point:

The Big East is being forced to reach. There are really only two reasons to reach significantly beyond your geographic base for a new team. The first is that the team you seek to add has a tremendous upside, as was the case when pretty much every conference in the country was courting Texas. The second is desperation, which is the mold from which the Big East seeks Boise State. Look, I was able to bend my mind enough to interpret Fort Worth as "East" when we were bringing in TCU, but there's no convincing me that a team located in the Northwest belongs in the Big East. And while Boise is certainly the most deserving of the non-AQs, I still contend that they really don't hold a huge upside for a conference to pick up. After all, once they stop being a Cinderella story and join the big kids table, what you're left with is the Boise media market and Idaho recruiting.

The Big East had nowhere to go but up--and still went down. When the Big XII lost Nebraska and Colorado, most still would have placed their strength as a conference at 3 or 4 among the 6 AQ conferences. Even with the loss of A&M, retaining Texas and Oklahoma goes a long way towards keeping their prestige respectable, even if they end up reaching into the ranks of current non-AQs to fill their empty spots. The Big East, on the other hand, widely regarded as 6th of 6, will continue to fall. Consider that the Big East is the only one of the current AQs to have never had a current member compete for a championship in the BCS era. Without the clout to lure schools in other AQ conferences away, the Big East has no choice but to add current non-AQs to fill its coffers, further jeopardizing conference prestige.

A house divided against itself cannot stand. The Big East remains a divided conference, and it may cause its downfall. The current member ship currently consists of eight schools who play football within the conference and eight who do not, though the latter set includes Notre Dame, a football independent, and Villanova and Georgetown, both of whom play FCS football. The loss of Pitt and Syracuse tips this balance in basketball's favor. What's more, the already unwieldy size of the basketball side of things makes expansion harder; evening out the football schools means creating an unmanageable behemoth come basketball season. Even when seemingly logical solutions consisting of a combination of football-only memberships and full memberships are brought up, there has been little movement; in fact the Boston Globe reports that expansion talk has stalled for this very reason. The Big East's need to serve two masters and the disparity of the lenses through which different conference members view its preservation may ultimately lead to its undoing.

High Notes, 2011: Week 6

2011-10-11T12:44:00.000-04:00

I know I said in the last post that because of my lack of games on TV, there wouldn't be a recognition for week 6, but the internet had prompted me to go back on that word and award my Week 6 High Notes recognition to the Ohio University Marching 110. If you've been anywhere online in the past week or so, you've probably seen the heavily-viraled video of the Marching 110 performing Party Rock Anthem. If somehow you've missed it, behold:

First of all, let me point out that the Marching 110 is an excellent marching organization. they were long before this video went viral, and will be long after. They march well, they play well, and as you can probably tell, they have fun on the field.

When things like this blow up--I remember the same a year ago with the Hawaii field goal kicker--it's always interesting for me, doing what I do. I usually get a couple of questions: "Did you see that? Wasn't it amazing?"

To answer the first: Chances are quite good I'm the biggest band nerd you know, and as such, yes, I've probably seen it.

For the second--Wasn't it amazing? In most cases, if it's being passed around, yes, it is amazing. But here's the thing: Amazing happens every Saturday on football fields throughout the country, and a lot of it happens when the game clock isn't running. Amazing happens in a variety of marching styles, with a variety of musical offerings, and it happens largely out of the view of television cameras, and sadly, also out of the view of live spectators who take the opportunity to grab a beer instead of watching what's going on on the field. The band featured in particular makes amazing happen pretty much every time they strap on their spats. So I'm sure you'll allow me the role of both hipster and evangelist when I say yes, I've been seeing marching bands do great things before it went pop. I encourage you to get out there and check it out yourself.

All's Fair in Tailgating and Football

2011-10-09T12:47:00.001-04:00

I set up fairgating in the last post. The day is now behind me, and it was just as glorious as I may have imagined. The journey began at 9ish Saturday morning. Winston-Salem sits less than an hour to my west, so it's a pretty innocuous trip for me. If I may give a shout-out to my little piece of the Tar Heel State here, I was reminded on the drive that, while they're not there quite yet, fall foliage here along the Piedmont gets quite beautiful. While I love making fall trips to the mountains, there's plenty of beauty right here at home.

My roll-dogs for this one were my friends James and Rachel. Both are FSU alums; James from undergrad and Rachel for her master's. James and I did the FSU @ Wake game two years ago, and upon arriving to the lot, we realized we've essentially got a "regular" spot now in the parking lot of the Joel Coliseum, which is adjacent to both the fairgrounds and BB&T Field. We started our day out with some standard beers-and-a-bumper tailgating. Going both seasonal and local, my cooler contained Blowing Rock Oktoberfest from Boone Brewing Co.--which I recommend highly--as well as Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale (because I'm a Delawarean and can't help myself) which never disappoints.

It's also worth noting my change in gameday attire. When supporting someone else's team--most often FSU in recent years--my MO has been to wear a shirt in an appropriate team color and something representing my actual team; my "but don't get it twisted..." piece de resistance. Yesterday for me it was a garnet polo with a USF hat that's the shade of "gold" (khaki) that could support either team. James was poloing is as well, in an actual FSU polo. As we sit on either side of the 30 threshold, are we becoming polo fans? I'll take it. I'm still about a half-century from being a sweater vest fan, though.

After a few beers in the lot, we headed on into the Dixie Classic Fair to commence the first leg of fairgating. We were actually right next to one of the food areas, so finding fair grub was a quick trip. For me, it was a corn dog and some onion rings. Following that, we headed on over to the stadium, getting tagged for re-entry upon exiting the fair.

Naturally, we were on the complete opposite side of the stadium from our suggested entrance. In our trek around, we saw--and I'm stereotyping here, I realize--what appeared to be Wake Forest fraternity and sorority members tailgating adjacent to the stadium, flying such "historical" pieces as a 13 star American flag, the stars and bars (the national flag, not the battle flag), a "Don't Tread On Me," and a Bonnie Blue (I wonder if they recognized the irony of flying the flag of West Florida when playing FSU?). We made our way into the stadium and took our seats in a very heavily FSU area.

FSU started redshirt freshman QB Clint Trickett, who has been at the helm for a few weeks while starter EJ Manuel has been on the mend. I conceptualize Wake Forest as the sort of team that many look at the way I looked at Syracuse (before they ruined our Homecoming last year)--a pretty sure W on the schedule. As such, the FSU faithful were beside themselves as the game began to slip away, due in no small part to the Noles being heavily penalized. EJ Manuel did eventually take over at QB, but despite matching all of Trickett's passing yards on his first drive, penalties, turnovers, and Wake Forest's offense imposing their will overwhelmed the Noles, who fell 35-30 to the Demon Deacons.

The day was pretty perfect weather. The high topped out at around 80, which did get a bit warm with the sun beaming on us for 3 1/2 hours. Still, it was a beautiful day to be at the ballpark and a great day for football.

For those looking for this week's High Notes band recognition, sadly, you'll have to do without. A full day of football and fairgating didn't give me the opportunity to see any games on TV, and the one band I saw live, Wake Forest's Spirit of the Old Gold and Black, did not earn their keep. As a band, simply put, they don't impress me much. Owning my big band bias, and knowing that Wake only has about 4,000 undergrads, they are quite small for my taste. A corollary of this fact is that they mic them in BB&T Field, which, at 31,500, isn't a behemoth stadium by any stretch. And you'll recall I took issue with their halftime show two years ago; this year their show was "Finales and Finishes". Sound familiar, Crown fans?

Following the game, it was back out to the lot. While waiting for my wife, daughter, and a few friends to join us, we enjoyed a bit more beer and chatted with a few Wake fans out in the lot. We eventually made our way back into the fair and caught up with everyone else for Fairgating II (Electric Boogaloo). My wife had been at the fair last week, and despite not typically going in this direction, tried and highly recommended the fried Oreos, so I partook. We had a good afternoon-evening of wandering around the fair before calling it a night. My last gastronomic treat was cajun chicken on a stick before we headed out. I don't know how they do it in Texas, but my fair/game combo made for great day.

High Notes 2011: Week 5

2011-10-07T23:16:00.001-04:00

While I didn't get to spend the entire day in front of football in Week 5, I was around for the primetime games. I spent most of my time on Bama-Florida, and the Million Dollar Band won this year in much they same way they were recognized last year. Once again, Alabama was on the road, and the football team's dominance gave plenty of reasons to strike up the band. And of course, as with any victory where they are present, the Million Dollar Band led the Bama fans assembled in a rousing Rammer Jammer.

Fairgating

2011-10-02T12:42:00.000-04:00

Each of the past couple of years, I've gone to see a Florida State football game when they were in NC. A couple friends of mine are FSU alums, and it's live college football for me, so I consider it win-win. This year--next week, actually--I'm headed out to Winston-Salem as FSU comes to town to play Wake Forest.

While I'm sure I didn't invent the concept (though the internet leads me to believe I coined the term) we're doing things a little different this time around. Instead of traditional tailgating, we'll be fairgating. The Dixie Classic Fair, a prety major regional fair in Northwest North Carolina, is adjacent to BB&T Field, so we figured we would instead take advantage of all sorts of fried goodness available at the fair. It'll actually be a double fair day for me, as my wife and daughter are headed west for us to do the fair following the game as well. Fairgating will be new to me, though I'm sure they do it at the Red River Shootout/Texas State Fair each year. I may miss my standard style though I may still bring the cornhole boards) but I'm looking forward to it!

And now, for something completely different: We're talkin' Baseball?

2011-10-02T12:07:00.000-04:00

Actually, I'm only talking baseball to talk about the fact that I don't talk baseball. I always say that I don't care too much about baseball until we're deep into September, and the other night proved to me that even then, it's a hard sell.

I think many would agree that a few nights ago was one of the most drama-filled nights in Major League Baseball, and I was connected to it in multiple ways. In the American League, my team (Red Sox) battled my wife's team (Orioles) for the opportunity to earn either a playoff spot or a chance to play in a tiebreaker game for one. Elsewhere, my archrival (Yankees) played my home team from grad school (Rays) that the Rays may have that same opportunity. In the National League, my hometown team (Phillies) was putting the closest thing to a home team here (Braves) out of commission.

With all of those story lines, surly I would give a damn... but I did not. Sorry, baseball.

The only thing to fear...

2011-09-29T12:26:00.002-04:00

Fear is, for the most part, a learned response. Save for a few biological imperatives, nearly everything that we has humans fear is based on something we've learned, either from experience or through the wisdom of others. Life as a sports fan isn't much different. We learn through experience to fear certain occurrences. We may call them jinxes, or curses, or any host of other things, but there are things that when they show up on your schedule, you fear the die is already cast. Sadly, in my life as an Eagles fan, one of those is the NFC Championship game.

As a USF fan, a few of those things come into play for this week's matchup vs. Pitt. First of all, Pitt themselves owns victories in the past three games vs. the Bulls. For the past five seasons--every season in the Big East except for our very first--USF has started conference play 1-2, dropping the conference opener in three of those seasons. This corresponds with the "mid-season swoon" phenomenon we've experienced the past several years. On top of all of that, this is a Thursday night game, where USF is winless over the same time period. It's a helluva combo for the FootBulls.

But there is hope. Jim Leavitt as much as I still love him as the architect of USF's football program, was also the architect of most of those midseason slumps. And while Holtz also started 1-2 last year, it had a much different feel to it. Pitt is in their first year with a new head coach, and while I realize the transitive property doesn't work in sports, I will note that they lost to Notre Dame, who USF beat, Finally, this year's USF program appears to be taking care of business in a way that others have not. While this year's competition thus far has included an FCS matchup and two non-AQs, I will note that, particularly in the cases of UTEP and FAMU, USF dispensed with them in the manner a big time program is "supposed" to, which ahsn't always been the case. B.J. Daniels seems more mature of a passer than he was last year. So while a healthy dose of fear remains, I feel good about our chances of getting it done. Go Bulls!

Comfortably Numb

2011-09-26T23:16:00.002-04:00

(And no, that's not the new studio album from the Northwestern University Marching Band)

It was just over a week ago that the announcement was made that Pittsburgh and Syracuse would be the latest two schools to leave the Big East conference for the ACC. I'll be the first to admit I was a bit blindsided; in the most recent expansion I felt, surprisingly, the the Big East was in a position of power. The ACC didn't seem to be planning any power moves and seemed ripe for fleecing from SEC expansion, while it seemed the Big East may be picking up the pieces from a decimated Big XII. There had been rumors of Texas to both coasts, via the ACC or the Pac-Tweezy, but they continue to prove to be the Great White Buffalo to all suitors. In an era of big media and big mouths, the ACC, Syracuse, and Pitt kept their wheelings and dealings surprisingly quiet until it was time to pull the trigger.

When I--along with fans of other Big East schools who fear being left behind in the superconference rapture--heard the news, the proclamations of the falling sky was loud and clear. As a USF alum, I'll admit I feared a return to Conference USA or the like. A look at the map of Big East and Big XII leftovers, had Texas, Texas A&M, OU, and Oklahoma State headed west as it seemed was evident, shows a surprisingly neat east-west swath bounded roughly by I-70 and I-90 with three notable outliers: Baylor, TCU, and USF. Three also happens to be the magic number of schools that would need to be left out to fit into the neat little 64 team scenario. But in the past week, a bit more news has come to light that puts superconference talk on hold, at least for the time being. The Pac-12 has stated that they are staying at that very number. The remaining members of the Big XII have pledged allegiance to one another, to at a confort level that has allowed them to legally clear Texas A&M to make the jump to the SEC, which is now official. So while the ACC won the race to 14, 16 still has not been realized by anyone and doesn't seem to be a done deal, at least not yet.

It's easy to place blame on Syracuse and Pitt for this move and the then-believe demise of the Big East, but quite frankly, I can't blame them. This isn't the situation from 2005 that led Boston College, Miami, and Virginia Tech out of the conference and USF, Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette, and DePaul in. At this juncture, there is credible reason to believe that the Big East was in mortal danger, and Pitt and Cuse were heading for more stable ground. I can't blame them for that; in fact, you've heard me in this very blog state that while I love the Big East and what it has meant to USF, I'd welcome a move to the ACC. Similarly, I'm hard-pressed to blame the ACC for poaching. While I don't know which side started it, we know that Pitt and Cuse applied to the ACC, and similarly, they had reason to believe that if they didn't make steps towards the 16 team reality, they too would be left behind.

The ACC looks stronger for the change. They do northern outlier Boston College a solid by bridging the gap between College Park and Chestnut Hill. They bring in two programs who, if they don't strengthen the football picture, certainly won't weaken it. They make an already strong basketball conference downright beastly, and they move ACC lacrosse one step closer to being a real conference with an AQ they don't need.

That said, I'm interested to see the culture of the new conference, and I'll have a front row seat for it. Certainly before the last expansion, and even afterwards with the exception of BC (and to a lesser extent, UMCP and Miami) the ACC was at its core a southeastern conference. The Syracuse and Pittsburgh basketball fans will be trading in Madison Square Garden for the Greensboro Coliseum; Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim has already made his voice heard on that change. The venue change is palpable, and that's to say nothing for the potential culture shock. And while the geographic center of the ACC is still pretty close to Greensboro, the addition of two more northern schools may have the conference thinking of locales like DC, Philly, and maybe even NYC itself for both the conference tournament and the football championship. And while it's an interesting proposition, consider the likes of Miami or Florida State--and their respective fanbases--headed to Philly in December.

So what's next for the ACC? Will the make the push to 16? Rumor has it they have already turned down an application from West Virginia, which helps hammer home my point that conference expansion has little to do with competitive acumen and everything to do with media markets. UConn and Rutgers have been rumored as potential targets; picking up both would strengthen their northeastern/NYC presence and push the conference to 16. It's worth noting, from the band perspective, that they'd be a conference 16 teams deep with still no Sudler to speak of. And while I realize football drives the bus, I honestly think that the ACC should look at Hopkins as a lacrosse-only expansion target. While Hopkins has been traditionally independent, three of their annual rivals, Syracuse, UVA, and College Park, are now in one place in the ACC. Might not be a bad line to cast.

Finally, what will become of the Big East? Well if the carousel has stopped here, or even with the departure of Rutgers and/or UConn, I think the plan is what it was back in 2005: Rebuild. ECU has reportedly already applied (this NC resident and Conference-USA-era alum would welcome this); Temple's recent success has had them mentioned as a possibility, despite their history with the conference. And there's still the possibility the Big XII will destabilize, most likely through a Mizzou-to-SEC move. I can speculate with the best of them, but the real answer is that we'll all just have to stay tuned.

High Notes 2011: Weeks 3 and 4

2011-09-26T16:51:00.000-04:00

I'm just getting around to posting Week 3's high notes; this past week at UNCG was Homecoming, keeping me plenty busy. I mentioned last time around that I'm a creature of habit as to the games I watch. As such, just knowing that I'd be watching USF's game vs. FAMU, it should come at no surprise to anyone that the Marching 100 get my week 3 recognition. Interestingly enough, I wasn't sure I'd be able to see them. Because it wasn't an HBCU-on-HBCU game, I didn't know if I could expect ESPN to pay their normal band lip service. I did get a text Brian over at Big Blue Homer telling me that he saw and enjoyed FAMU's band, and that he wished they showed bands more often (I told him he was preaching to the choir) but despite watching with rapt attention and even replaying the ESPN3 feed, I didn't see the 100. Maybe the Blue & Gold Marching Machine lobby here in Greensboro had them blacked out? At any rate, luckily the internet had my back.

My recognition for Week 4 is similar to what it was at this time last year. Because I saw very little college football (and that which I did catch was in a restaurant with no sound on) my recognition goes to the one marching band--or rather, band who marched--that I did see: UNCG's Bands of Sparta. The official pep band of UNCG Athletics participated in our Homecoming Parade again this year, their second year on the march with the mobility of field drums acquired last off-season. The Bands of Sparta had an additional treat for us as well--a new fight song! I'm not sure if I had mentioned this here before or not--I try not to bash the employer on the internet--but it had long been a bone of contention for me that UNCG's fight song was that of Northwestern University. The new fight song is distinct enough that it is a Spartan original, yet similar enough that it's still got the same feel of Go U Northwestern and won't give any Spartan fans whiplash adjusting. The rewrite was handled deftly, and I'm told credit is due to Pete Borotto, a senior composition major in UNCG's renowned School of Music, Theatre, & Dance. I'm glad it exists and it was great to see the Bands of Sparta bring it to life!

More Than the Eyes of Texas Upon You

2011-09-17T10:54:00.001-04:00

Another day, another realignment rumor. The latest, seemingly founded, is Syracuse and Pitt in talks with the ACC. Still one of the big shoes we're all waiting on to drop is Texas. Recent rumors have them heading out west and hooking up with Larry Scott the Hustler's Pac-Tweezy, or coming east as a member of the ACC. While we're all flinging turds at a wall, allow me to add this one: Texas to the Big East.

ACC, of course, is the conventional eastern choice, but let me point out a few things. First of all, the ACC as as conference has been the most true to its definition; that is each of its schools are currently in states that touch the Atlantic coast, and even with Pitt and Syracuse, that would only change slightly (we'll allow the Delaware River, PA.) While I realize realignment has folks considering the otherwise unthinkable to stay alive, but this would be a fairly radical move for a historically conservative conference.

If Texas wants to come east, here are some of the big gets with the Big East option:

-Longhorn Network in NYC. I can't overstate how huge this is. And it's not just the biggest media market in the country. The Big East also makes logical inroads for the LHN in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Tampa; add that to DFW and Houston, which Texas already has, and the Longhorns now have their network in seven of the top ten media markets east of the Rockies. That alone should be enough to at least make Texas pick up the phone.

-Coming East, the Horns only have to travel one time zone, vs. being two time zones away from the meat of their Pac-12 brethren if they joined that conference. In the Big East, Texas would have some Central time Zone company.

-A travel partner/potential rival: With TCU joining the Big East, Texas won't be alone on an island as they would be in the ACC. With rivalries with Texas A&M and Oklahoma potentially falling to the wayside, picking one back up with old Southwest Conference foe TCU would keep at least some sense of stability. Selfishly, I'd be interested in the USF and Texas locking horns in a Battle of the Cattle. Only one hand sign needed.

-Big East Basketball. It will take a hit if we lose Pitt and Syracuse, but it's still one of the best things going.

-Finally, the Big East has historically been a pushover. Sorry, but the truth hurts. We've allowed Notre Dame to get away with that all-sports-but-football mess for all this time, and we even let Syracuse call pretty much all of the shots with Big East lacrosse came into being. I think that, for the sake of conference viability, the conference would allow Texas whatever advantageous revenue sharing agreement they drafted, keeping Texas in the driver's seat, right where they want to be.

High Notes 2011: Week 2

2011-09-16T22:07:00.000-04:00

I spent most of this past football Saturday over in Winston-Salem, and though I saw folks headed to the NC State-Wake Forest, I didn't attend that game. I was home for the evening games, and gave most of my attention to the USF-Ball State game while keeping an eye on Northwestern State-LSU, Texas-BYU, and of course, Notre Dame-Michigan. The fireworks on the field gave Michigan plenty of opportunities to strike up the band and earn Michigan this week's recognition.

This is where I call upon you, the reader: I'm in my second year of High Notes, and I can foresee the potential of it getting stale. In addition to the football itself, I will gravitate towards bands I like, and I've already laid my biaes on the table. This is where you come in. Got a game you think I should be watching? Let me know--via comment, e-mail, tweet, or call to the "Phone Tap" Hotline - 302-364-0926. I'll do my best to watch!

Guest Band Nerd Credit

2011-09-14T21:54:00.000-04:00

When breaking down the upcoming matchup between USF and FAMU, Ken, the proprietor over at Voodoo Five saw fit to go a slightly different direction. Amidst the normal offensive and defensive breakdowns, he shifted focus to what FAMU's really known for on a football field: The Marching 100. In doing so, he reached out to me to provide some commentary from a band perspective. Check it out!

High Notes 2011: Week 1

2011-09-10T10:26:00.001-04:00

Another year, another crop of High Notes recognitions. Week 1 for me is pretty easy to call, both because they performed excellently and because I spent most of the day Saturday on one game. The Band of the Fighting Irish was excellent, though they got jobbed out of their halftime performance by the weather. I was pleased to learn that their halftime show for all home games is broadcast on NBCsports.com, further proof that Notre Dame's TV contract > yourn. I was similarly pleased that Notre Dame didn't go All 80 though; good to see that their football team couldn't get it done against my Bulls.

That said, this past week brought to light a couple of low notes as well. One was courtesy of ESPN who I've railed against ESPN and their horrible band coverage before. I understand they're under no obligation to show the bands, but here's where they really got on my nerves (and, judging by Twitter, many others): At halftime of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, they mentioned heading "Back for the Battle of the Bands". What followed was commercial-length snippets of both the Bethune-Cookman and Prairie View A&M bands, complete with horrible camera angles and unflattering portions of their show. Luckily, the internet came through with feeds of both performances, linked above.

My last low note comes from the NFL. I was looking at the schedule of the Ohio University Marching 110, and this entry jumped out at me:

SEPTEMBER 25TH

Bengals Performance CANCELLED: "Due to league-wide initiatives...the NFL is beginning to go a different route with halftime and using a NFL RedZone show instead. Besides contractually obligated deals with the Bengals, we (Bengals) will no longer be having any halftime performances."

I wish I could see the entire text of this communique, but the way it reads sounds like the NFL will be shutting out high school and college marching bands left and right. Certainly a sad development. I don't know what the "RedZone Show" is, but something tells me it will solidify the NFL as the only type of football where I actually go to the bathroom or the concessions stand during halftime.

Those Damn Uniforms

2011-09-05T22:46:00.002-04:00

Photo courtesy of Maryland Football Facebook page

My name is Curtis Tarver, and I am a Terps uniform apologist.

I'm not saying I love them, but I certainly don't hate them like it seems so many do.

First of all, let's get one thing clear: Don't think for a second that it's lost on me that the reaction we're all having is exactly what UnderArmour and the Terps wanted. These uniforms in primetime on Labor Day? Of course it's a publicity stunt. But in the process, they ended up with uniforms that I actually find a bit endearing.

Let me first lay all of my biases on the table. I am a Marylander by association--that is, I went to undergrad in the state (UMBC), I married a Maryland native and have a bunch of Maryland friends and in-laws. I also have a good deal of my own family hailing from the Free State. In addition, I'm a bit of a vexillology (the study of flags) enthusiast, as well as a fan of heraldry, in which Maryland's state flag is deeply steeped. Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time I've found myself defending College Park uniforms on those very merits.

For starters, if you hate Maryland's flag, you're obviously going to hate the uniforms. If your willing to look past that fact or at least understand the flag, here's the cliff notes version: The two themes represented in the flag are from the Calvert and Crossland coats of arms. The Calvert portion--the black and gold in the upper left and lower right which you also see represented in the Baltimore flag--is the coat of arms of Maryland's colonial founder, while the red and white Crossland portion is from Calvert's maternal side of the family. I've always given credit to College Park for representing all of the colors of their state flag; while most associate red and white with the Terps, their official school colors are actually red, white, black and gold, all of the colors of the state flag. They often make efforts to represent at least some of each of these colors in their uniform design.

Photo courtesy of the Maryland Football facebook page

Now I will admit that the Calvert/Crossland colors on both the helmet and the shoulders may be a bit of overkill, and I probably wouldn't have opted for such. That said, I'd consider adding that helmet to the permanent rotation. With both used, however, I think UnderArmour/the Terps fell just short of an opportunity in front of them. Have they seen fit to reverse the order of the flag pieces on the shoulders, they would have ended up with a truer representation of the Maryland state flag. With that configuration, a down lineman would quite literally be the Maryland flag staring you in the face. THAT's where they should have set their sights.

An Online Alternative?

2011-09-05T11:18:00.001-04:00

I had the pleasure this weekend of watching a Notre Dame football broadcast on NBC. While that may sound sarcastic, I genuinely enjoyed it. USF was playing in South Bend and supplied the whoopin' for which the Irish genrtously provided the ass.

If you've never watched a Notre Dame game broadcast, it's a bit of a sight to behold in terms of propaganda. Notre Dame has an exclusive contract with NBC for their home games, the product of which is essentially a 3+ hour commercial for the school. This sort of unparalleled coverage is only starting to meet its match, with the likes of the Longhorn Network, BYU's own network, and to a lesser extent, conference-specific networks like the Big Ten Network.

Here's where the Notre Dame broadcast got particularly interesting to me. Before they broke for the half, the announcement was made: If you would like to see the Band of the Fighting Irish's halftime performance, you can view it live on NBCsports.com. Yes, Notre Dame's propaganda machine is so thorough that even the band gets airtime. Naturally, I halted all halftime plans and went looking for the broadcast, but unfortunately, the weather that ultimately led to a 2 hour halftime kept them from performing. Still, the effort was noted and appreciated.

Digital media for sports broadcasting is still in its relative infancy; in most cases, online features consist either of a simulcast of televised content or games that won't fit on the regular networks. I was intrigued to see this sort of "added value" piece as an option to expand Notre Dame's already immense offerings, and I think it makes absolute sense for other schools/conferences with their own networks to follow suit. Missouri, for example, has a network on the way (as does K-State, which to some degree sounds like a vote of no confidence in the Big XII, but that's another story) and it has been spoken of not as a revenue stream but as a promotional tool for the university as a whole. So I'm not saying that this needs to be done out of any sort of magnanimity to us starved band nerds out here. It truly makes good sense.

Going All 80

2011-09-01T22:27:00.000-04:00

(Today's a great example of "The best laid plans of mice and men..." I had meant to post this before the first games began, but life gets in the way. I'll keep that which I already wrote in its original tense; hope it's not too confusing.)

In the waning hours before the college football season officially kicks off (or, more accurately from my perspective, before the first pregames step off) I can hardly contain my excitement. Each year, the return of the college football/marching season is like seeing an old friend. It also gives me an added jolt to make things happen here--while I have sports/activities I follow year round, the fall is where my true passion lies.

What can you expect from me this season? Simply--and hopefully--more. I'll definitely return to the High Notes feature I began last year. The Band on the Road Project is, of course, a huge addition, and now that I've gotten that as complete as possible, I may look to add a matchup of the week-type feature. Another thought is some sort of recognition of those who go "All 80"--that is, excel during the 60 minutes of the game and the 20 minutes of halftime. I will say this, however: My commitment to "more" is tempered by the fact that this will be my daughter Anastasia's first football season, so time will only tell what my fall Saturday schedule will look like.

I thought of doing something bombastic prior to the season like an "All 80" Top 25, or conference champions. Here's what makes this difficult. There's relatively little coverage of college marching bands to be found, and virtually nothing that addresses these bands in the macro sense. That's simply a declarative statement, it's not meant to read as "woe is me" or "look at me, I'm special". That said, while I've got at least some familiarity with most marching bands isn the BCS auto-qualifying conferences (and quite a few more from the non-AQ and FCS ranks) I've got no intel on how they may change year to year, like who's looking particularly strong in band camp or who graduated a bunch of seniors and has a young snare line.

There is one recognition I do want to make: College football's "All 80" division. While you've heard me tout my love of Big Ten marching and point out that both the Legends and Leaders divisions have five of six bands holding a Sudler Trophy, All 80 recognition has to go to the SEC West. On the football side of things, division members Auburn, Alabama, and LSU have won three of the last four BCS national championships. Marching-wise, their three respective bands all have Sudler Trophies and, from what I've seen, have kept on trucking--in fact, I recognized each of them in High Notes last season and gave Auburn an All 80 recognition before I had even coined the concept. The division has another Sudler in the Arkansas Razorback Band, and should Texas A&M join the fray, will have yet another. I think it's a pick that football fans and band fans alike would have a hard time disputing.

As I wrap this up, a couple of Band on the Road games are already underway. So glad to have it all back!

The Return of College Football and Off-Season Conference Un-Champions

2011-08-31T01:00:00.000-04:00

First of all, let me just bask in the light at the end of a dismal tunnel. DCI notwithstanding, the summer is largely devoid of sports that keep my interest. They say it's always darkest before the dawn, and with college football/marching band less than 48 hours away, that dawn is on the horizon.

Too much? Didn't mean to wax that poetic, but honestly, I'm quite glad to seethe sport and activity that spawned the very name of this blog return. That said, this offseason was particularly active in terms of media surrounding the sport exposing some of the seedier underbelly and chipping away at the veneer I shall henceforth call "shamateurism", courtesy of Jason Whitlock, who brought the term to my attention. I still love college football, but I feel watching this year will require the same nose-holding typically reserved for wearing Nikes or shopping at Wal-Mart.

I'm not without a bit a oomph at the end of the off-season, however and so, from the six BCS auto-qualifying conferences, I bring you the Off-Season Conference Un-Champions.

ACC: This one's a no-brainer; the Shalal--er--shenanigans recently exposed down at Miami make the U a shoo-in for this conference title. UNC was not with out its share of media this summer with the Michael McAdoo situation and the firing of Butch Davis, but sadly (fortunately?) with the Nevin Shapiro happenings running wild in Coral Gables, the Heels couldn't even get out of the Coastal Division.

Big East: There is a bit of comfort in the fact that many aren't paying attention to the football side of the conference. West Virginia will wave the league's banner for their coach-in-waiting scuffle that handed Holgorsen the reins a year early, but by and large, things are relatively quiet in my home conference.

Big Ten: Clearly The Ohio State. But here's the interesting thing: Because I'm told these things are transferrable, they took the same award in the NFL as well. Oh wait...

Big XII: Two programs dominated the headlines as foils in a situation that may tear the league asunder. While Texas dipped its toes in the water of habitual line-stepping with the Longhorn Network, Texas A&M gets the nod. After all, having your own network isn't necessarily un-champion behavior. Hollering about how you're out and--at least at the time of this post--having nothing to show for it is.

Pac-12: I seem to recall that USC's still ineligible for the post-season, but like on the field in 2010 , they had a relatively quiet off-season anyway. The reigning conference football champions and national runners-up, however, are winning (losing?) in this arena as well. Oregon's run-ins with a "street agent" named Will(ie) Lyles put them above the rest.

SEC: LSU jumped out to a late lead to take this one. Anytime the phrase "kicked a Marine in the head" is thrown around your program, you can forget the word "allegedly" before it. You're already losing in the court of public opinion.

That's it for now; I'm hoping to crank one more out before the season starts ::checks watch:: tomorrow. Happy New Season!

The Sudler Fallacy

2011-08-26T22:23:00.000-04:00

You've heard me use the Sudler Trophy as a high water mark for a marching band's achievement, and even as a bellwether for the marching strength of conferences. True enough, the Sudler Trophy, which by their own definition is awarded biannually (formerly annually) to "collegiate marching bands of particular excellence that have made outstanding contributions to the American way of life. The Sudler Trophy will be awarded biannually to a college or university marching band which has demonstrated the highest of musical standards and innovative marching routines and ideas, and which has made important contributions to the advancement of the performance standards of college marching bands over a number of years." While it is by no means inconsequential, I do want to let it be known that the fallacy of using it as a sole or near-sole measure of a band's worth is not lost on me.

The biggest caveat with the Sudler Trophy is that is is only awarded once to any given band. In the past I have used the fallacious argument that the first band awarded was the best band, and each subsequent band was the best of the rest, but given the changing nature of bands, we all know that that isn't necessarily so, or even if it was true in 1982 when Michigan was awarded the first, it isn't necessarily true now. In fact, it's worth noting that there are marching bands (USF's Herd of Thunder being among them) that didn't even exist when the award came into being. While the one-time awarding speaks to tradition, which I find particularly important in the marching band world, what does a band do after the win? Continue the excellence? Stagnate? Innovate? It is also unclear on the evaluation period: Is it since the last was awarded? The past several years? Lifetime achievement?

I've used the Sudler Trophy to prop up a belief I hold that the Big Ten is the strongest marching conference. I fully admit the bias that leads me to this conclusion--having marched under a Michigan man, and marching traditional style is no small part of that. True enough, it's hard to deny--ten of the Big Ten's twelve members are Sudler Trophy winners and the conference, and they account for both primacy and recency: The conference won both the first three and the last one awarded to a member of a BCS AQ conference. But just for the sake of argument, let's rewind to 2005, just before Penn State won. There are two narratives that can be told there, and their contrast illustrates the difference in interpretations. At that point it would be correct to say that the seven Big Ten schools had won, more than any other conference. But here's another interpretation: "Man, the Big Ten hasn't won a Sudler in a decade. In that time, the SEC's won four, the Big XII has won three, hell, the Big East and even a I-AA program have won. The marching world sure is passing the Big Ten by." Which is correct?

Here's another one: Let's say the question is asked: What's the best marching band in the Big East? If you're using the Sudler Trophy as your barometer, you'd have to say the Pride of West Virginia. But take a look at the landscape in 1997, when WVU won: The Herd of Thunder wasn't yet in existence. UConn was playing I-AA ball (this isn't to say that lower level programs can't win; indeed, three I-AA programs hold Sudlers) and Cincinnati and Louisville were still in Conference USA. What's to say that things haven't changed significantly in the last decade and a half?

Bands that have hoisted Lord Sudler (yeah, I went there) should absolutely be proud of their accomplishment, and I will probably still use it in some instances as a measure of a band's cred. But I can't pretend it is the be-all, end-all. I'd love to see another such annual (or hell, weekly) award come into being as another measure.

Eastbound

2011-08-17T22:38:00.000-04:00

So as much time as I spent painting Missouri as the next logical addition to the SEC, I'm going to backpedal just a bit. While I still think they make the most sense given all factors, If--and it's a big if--Virginia Tech didn't use up all of their political cloud on the move to the ACC, they'd be a a solid pickup for the SEC.

Let's ignore for a second that this would leapfrog the state of North Carolina (though Clay Travis has a solution for that); Virginia also touches SEC states Tennessee and Kentucky, particularly Southwest VA where Tech is located. Breaking up UNC/Duke/NC State notwithstanding (I think they'd leave Wake behind, but as Clef said, you can try, but you can't divide the tri) Virginia Tech makes a ton of sense. They've got a strong football tradition--probably one of a handful of ACC schools who thinks football before basketball--and expands the SEC footprint, likely capturing eyes in Washington DC, throughout the state of Virginia, and even into NC.

But one of the things that makes Tech make a ton of sense is the foil they provide for Texas A&M. First of all, logistically, adding Virginia Tech over Missouri or another western school allows the SEC to maintain its divisions as we know them; adding two schools in the west redraws the line between the Iron Bowl, and I don't see that happening. But Virginia Tech and Texas A&M also share a military tradition with their respective Corps of Cadets. The SEC could preserve all other crossover rivalries, bring in Virginia Tech and Texas A&M, and start a new crossover: The War of the Corps. While it's not the Army-Navy game, it would give the SEC its own answer.

SECession

2011-08-14T22:12:00.002-04:00

(I'm posting from my phone as my wife drives through southern VA. Given the medium, this won't be nearly as fleshed out as I'd like.)

This weekend,the internet has once again been abuzz with Texas A&M to the SEC rumors. There was some such buzz last summer as the fate of the Big XII laid in the balance amidst the departure of Colorado and Nebraska to the Pac-12 and Big Ten, respectively, and now it seems that many things, not the least of which is the Longhorn Network, have Texas playing "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" to A&M's Jan. While it seems the SEC move may not happen in internet time (read: yesterday) there's been no closed door to tell us it may not be close on the horizon.

Should this move take place, I don't see the SEC standing pat at 13. One more school will move, and my money is on Missouri. Sexy choices like Florida State, Clemson, and Virginia Tech from the ACC have been batted around, but save for VT, these schools don't add media markets; Florida and South Carolina, already in the SEC, bring eyeballs in their respective states. VT could have other issues, finding themselves legislatively beholden to UVA for the wheeling and dealing that got Tech into the ACC in the first place. In contrast, Mizzou brings TV sets in St. Louis and Kansas City, and their jookeying for position back during Big Ten expansion has already made the statement that their loyalty lies with the highest bidder.

While such moves would take the Big XII-now-X down to VIII, surprisingly enough, I don't see it as a death knell for them. Conventional wisdom is that Texas is well-equipped to go it alone, and while that may be true, there is a certain comfort to conference scheduling, especially in non-football sports, and unless it's been in he plans already anyway, I don't see the Horns allowing the Aggies to dictate the terms of their independence in quite this manner. Rather, I see the Big XII re-expanding to a conference that, while not nearly as powerful as the pre-2011 edition, is still viable. Returning to ten would be as easy as calling a recently soaring Houston and a back-from-the-death-penalty SMU to the ranks (don't worry, Conference USA. You can always raid the Sun Belt or wait around for recent startups like South Alabama, UTSA, or Charlotte.) If a return to 12 is desired, throw in old Southwest Conference buddy Rice to an all-Lone-Star south division, and give BYU (let them keep their TV deal, Texas has one) or Boise State a call to round out the north. New alignments with minimal deck chair shuffling, at least in the AQ conferences.

Meanwhile, in the new look SEC, consider this: before correcting for any division realignment, consider that the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band joins the likes of the Million Dollar Band, the Razorback Band, the Auburn University Marching Band, and the Golden Band from Tiger Land in a Sudler Trophy-laced division that seeks to rival anything any Leaders or Legends can cook up.

Finally it's worth noting that after A&M and TCU move, Texas would be the second state with representation in three AQ conferences, with the other being similarly talent-rich Florida. Coincidence? Of course not.

Feeding Both Beasts

2011-08-07T13:06:00.000-04:00

For as long as I've been a drum corps fan, I've thought about making the trip to Allentown for the DCI Eastern Classic. Spread over two days, this event is typically one of the last major events of the season, save for World Championships. I've heard the fans, the stadium, and the show are great, and in eastern PA, it's on my home stomping grounds. Now I've got one more reason to head up there.

I don't know how I hadn't put two and two together before, but J. Birney Crum stadium is a mere 6.5 miles from Lehigh University in nearby Bethlehem. You know what takes place there in August? Philadelphia Eagles training camp! This means that one could conceivably head to Eagles camp, head out, set up to tailgate for DCI (and I've heard the tailgate lot is in a great location to catch lot warmups), head to the show, get up the next morning, and do it all over again. What's more, with this year's schedule, I could have rounded out the weekend skipping over to New Jersey for the Tour of Champions event at the Meadowlands. Add to that the proximity to family, potential side excursions to Dorney Park, Philly, or New York, and the fact that I work in higher ed so this could provide a great near-endcap to my summer, and this is a must-do at some point in the future.

Sights and Sounds from One-and-a-Fraction Drum Corps Shows

2011-08-05T22:05:00.001-04:00

In the past week I went to NightBEAT (which, unfortunately, was rained out) and the Summer Music Games of Southwest Virginia. The podcast accounts are here and here, respectively, but I also wanted to share some of the photos and audio I gathered at each event.

NightBEAT:

Pulling into Rock Hill, I was behind this beaut.

Bluecoats basses.

Crown's drums are HOT HOT HOT!

The Blue Stars' tenors warming up.

Blue Stars basses, but I really took this moreso to show off how much the stadium/lots were in the neighborhood. Think that dog wants on hornline?

Bluecoats basses, though their tenors, just offscreen, are just as audible.

One of the glimpses I got into the Tour of Champions concept before the rains came. This one part of the pre-show entertainment: A Santa Clara Vanguard horn ensemble playing the Bottle Dance portion from the 1992 Fiddler on the Roof show. This is my favorite moment in one of my favorite shows, so that alone made it worth it. and I intentionally didn't do the "VANGUARD!" shout since I was filming; sadly, it would seem the rest of those assembled didn't know to.

Cadets' bass drums also gave us a pre-show treat.

And finally, photographic evidence of the Blue Stars, the one corps that actually got to take the field.

Summer Music Games of Southwest Virginia:

Yes, you read that right. One-Oh-Friggin'-Four. And while sometimes that gauge is a bit off, it wasn't by much.

Lots: Mandarins drumline and Jersey Surf horn arc.

Salem Stadium sits next to the baseball stadium that's home to the Salem Red Sox.

Some shots of what really is a beautiful venue for drum corps.

And finally, the Cadets' retreat. While I respect DCI's prohibition of recording devices, I decided to follow the spirit of the law; it exists so as to protect copyrights held by composers and arrangers, so this violates none of that. And while I know you've heard me dis the Cadets before, thy are actually a few years removed from the nonsense that got on my nerves, and in fact I love this year's show.

Art Imitating Sports Imitating Art

2011-08-05T17:58:00.003-04:00

In noting parallels between college athletics and drum corps, I've often equated DCI's Tour of Champions and the proposal that created it with the BCS. After all, the outcome of the latter and the assumed outcome of the former is to deepen the rift between the haves and have-nots. Each system rewards those already at the top of the structure, and in each case an underclass is created from which it is nigh unto impossible to emerge to a championship.

At the time of the proposal in DCI, many--myself included--asked if this was planting the seeds for secession from the league. Now, in similar fashion, there are rumblings that schools may be considering seceding from the NCAA. Accounts of exactly who differ; the BCS auto-qualifying conferences and their member institutions are an obvious break point, but it could also be a smaller subset of the truly elites: The Texas, Alabamas, and USCs of the world.

While it is a bit melodramatic to say that the NCAA is fatally flawed, it will likely be "creative differences" that lead to a secession, if one does occur. This isn't the first time such talks have been bandied about over a difference in philosophy; it has often been stated that should big-time college football seek to go to a playoff, the Big Ten and Pac-12 could very well take their ball (the Rose Bowl) and go home. This time through, a major potential impetus is over the status of the student-athlete [sic], compensation, and the rules that bind them. Interestingly enough, again, the Big Ten is among the conferences at odds with the NCAA.

Where this ends up remains to be seen. While we are less than a year into the situation in DCI, it would seem that the league acquiesced to, or at least compromised with, the desires of The Undersigned. There seem to be indications that the NCAA is willing to "examine changes," but who knows what is meant by that? What's more, if schools are thinking about it, what are the possibilities that it seems just too lucrative to pass up.

If secession were to take place, would it be altogether horrible? EDUsports examined it pretty thoroughly in a recent podcast. If it were the truly big time programs breaking off, then their football and basketball programs may more formally become what they've essentially been for years: A developmental league for the NFL/NBA, cloaked in university colors. Questions remain as to what relationship, if any, they would have to the NCAA schools. If this new offshoot played entirely within itself, we'd be seeing blockbuster matchups week in and week out. The corollary, of course, is that we'd have to get used to college football records looking more like NFL records. The undefeated season would be a relatively unknown quantity. And what of the bowls? Does this New World Order take them as well? Keep the BCS? Institute *gasp* a playoff?

Also consider this: with the big boys out of the way, the teams/corps that have to this point experienced a glass ceiling can compete for a championship. Boise State, TCU, Utah, and Hawaii have been in the close-but-no-cigar seat. TCU and Utah, of course, are trading up to try and get theirs, but those who have been allowed to gaze upon the ring but never grasp it may now compete for a championship in the new look NCAA. In DCI, consider the battles that are taking place this year both for the #8 spot (last in for the Tour of Champions in its current format) and the #12 spot (last in for World Championships). If The Undersigned were its own entity, those folks are now in a medal hunt or even battling for the top prize. And while many eyes would turn to the New World Order, the NCAA would not be without its supporters--especially now that the also-rans are now title contenders. Further, college football is among the most popular sports in the country. They'll be watching, and regardless of what new name or shape it may take, I suspect that that which we call a Rose Bowl will smell as sweet.

In The Lot

2011-07-30T23:16:00.000-04:00

Like most drum corps fans, I enjoy spending the time before a show in the lot. For me, in most cases it's been tailgating before the show instead of checking out lot warmups.

I'm headed to Carolina Crown's NightBEAT tomorrow, and a few things are keeping me out of the tailgate lot this time around. One, it is supposed to be God-awful hot, and while I cut my tailgating teeth in Tampa, FL, It's supposed to be pretty brutal, and my usual crew and I are foregoing it this year. That said, since this year's NightBEAT is a Tour of Champions event, there are new things to check out. The pre-show activities start a good deal earlier than the show itself, and I look forward to those, though having seen few thorough accounts of the Tour of Champions concept that didn't come from the league itself, I don't know entirely what to expect.

But this time I will hit the warmup lots, and I expect it should be a great time. After all, TOC events feture eight of the top corps in the activity, so they should be a pleasure to watch. And while I remain a cream team supporter, you all know I stan for Vanguard's cymbals. You know you'll find me over there. In the mean time, I'm watching folks weigh in on DCI Atlanta on Twitter right now. Can't wait!

Band on the Road Project

2011-07-27T08:19:00.001-04:00

Welcome 80 Minutes of Regulation readers, band nerds/heads/dorks/aficionados, college football fans, and anyone else who may have stumbled by!

I invite you to participate in the Band on the Road Project. The goal is to create as comprehensive as possible of a database of college marching bands who are traveling to away games this year. While I'm admittedly approaching it from a band nerd perspective, I think it's valuable information for my fellow college football fans as well; when traveling to away games, it's nice to know if your band will be there serving up a little slice of home.

Here's where you come in: At this point, I've done all I can do with band schedules that are available online; some are not yet updated. I would love for you to help out by adding band travel that you know of at this point to the overall list. First- and second-hand sources are ideal, but by all means, if you've heard rumors, throw them in; we'll hopefully have enough folks that they'll get straightened out in due time. When adding travel, please add it both to the traveling band and to the school they'll be visiting; after all, home fans may like to know when there'll be another band in the house as well.

I started with the BCS auto-qualifying conferences out of ease of scope, not slight. I started this as one man, and bit off a manageable chunk. By all means, if you've got intel on non-AQs, FCS schools, or even Division II or III programs, feel free to add them.

I'd love your help in making this as comprehensive as it can be. Please add if you can, or share it with folks who may be able to. Thanks!

Band on the Road Project

UPDATE (8/30/2011) The Band on the Road Project is as complete as possible with the information available. In addition to the master list, a new week-by-week breakdown shows which bands are traveling during each week of the football season. The full document now includes all games featuring teams from BCS auto-qualifying conferences, as well as HBCU classics and HBCU band travel games in Division I (MEAC/SWAC and Tennessee State). I not-so-humbly believe that it's the most comprehensive document of its kind, and I aim to keep it up to date as times become final. Most importantly, it remains a public document, and I'd still love any information you can add!

The Band is On the Field! Wait, what?

2011-07-22T16:29:00.000-04:00

Hopefully by the time this posts, the NFL lockout will be over and we won't have to resort to this.

It's an extended metaphor that's been a long time coming. You've probably heard me say before that trumpets are the marching band's wide receivers, referring largely to their (stereotypical) penchant for ego, braggadocio, and showboating. I've been playing a little bit with the idea of extending the metaphor into an entire team, and here you have it.

It's worth noting that while the earlier statement was based on the personalities of the respective players, this is based more on their functions. If you find this absurd or question how this will work, read on! Also consider that different instruments, by their very tone, timbre, and the manner in which they are used convey certain imagery. It is the justification behind Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf or Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals. By the same token, football positions have their respective roles and often the types of people--by size, skill, and personality--who play them.

It just so broke out that the role of the offense is played by the brass and battery percussion, while the pit and woodwinds play defense. To the guard fans out there, it's likely no surprise that you're on special teams, but unfortunately, I didn't hash out different roles; as special teams play a variety of roles, so to guard members with a variety of equipment and skills.

We'll start on the offensive side of the line of scrimmage. It should surprise no one that the action begins with the drum major, at center, setting the tempo and snapping it to the drumline (yes, the entire drumline) at quarterback, involved, as you'd expect, in every play. For those uneasy with the full battery in one position, consider the different looks and uses of the quarterback to be your instruments.

Up front, large, solid, dependable, and low (be it in a three point stance or in pitch) the tubas play the offensive line. As stated before, the trumpets are wide receivers, but this time we're talking skillset, not just personality; their speed an agility leads to the ball often being in their hands for big plays. With a related skillset, the mellophones play the role of tight end; a little bigger and not necessarily as fast as the wide receivers, but able to block and share in the duties (long phrasing, for instance) of the offensive line.

In the backfield, I've got some low brass in the running back positions; specifically, the baritones/euphoniums at fullback can assist in blocking, while the trombones are more likely to break free and pick up 15 or 20 yards.

Let's cut over to defense. I'm using a 4-3 as the base set, though I'll talk a bit about other packages as well. Up front--where else would they be--we've got the pit. Based on size and roles, and using some fairly standard pit instrumentation, I'm putting timpani and bass drum/gong at the defensive tackle positions, while the speed and agility of the marimbas and xylophones will come off the end. Backing the line, we've got the saxophones; the tenor sax at middle linebacker will quarterback the defense, with the range to play in a deep center field role if need be. At the strongside position, the baritone sax has the bass to shred the offensive line if need be, and a range equipped to take on the running back. The alto sax will play on the weakside; the range and agility allows for pass coverage matching up with wide receivers if need be.

The clarinets and flutes were perhaps the toughest to place, given that, stereotypically, they are probably the farthest in characteristics from a football player, but I found them a home in the secondary, specifically with the clarinets at the cornerback positions and the flutes at safety. I mentioned other packages earlier; if you need to put in a nickelback, bring in a piccolo (I actively avoided saying picc-leback. Whoops.)

If you follow both and have opinions on how I put the team together, I'd love to hear them! If you either follow football but not marching band or vice versa, consider this your Young Person's Guide to the Marching Band/Football Team. Hope you enjoyed!

Flying the Flag

2011-07-19T17:00:00.000-04:00

A Rita's Water Ice (yes, I'll always call it water ice) just opened here in Greensboro. If you're not familiar, Rita's is a Delaware Valley-based chain that sells water ice, custard, and various combinations thereof. While they're few and far between here, they are ubiquitous back up home. Not surprisingly, bringing one to town brought us all out.

They opened on Saturday, and to date, I've been three days (it's Tuesday, and the day's not yet over). The first day, despite acknowledging it had a dressing-up-for-the-Harry-Potter-premiere feel to it, I intentionally wore a Delaware shirt. I got little more than a knowing glance from the young lady in the Ryan Howard jersey/shirt.

The second day, I again made it a point to represent, this time throwing on a Sixers hat (fact: you're never too far from a piece of Philly sports paraphernalia at my house). It was like a reunion. I exchanged pleasantries with folks from Jersey, Norristown, and Philly, and had a conversation with a guy from South Philly who went to Wilmington High School

Sports--bringing people together.

4th of July

2011-07-06T23:15:00.001-04:00

This 4th of July, I came out of retirement. Sort of. As you all know, I'm a band fan and enthusiast, but what I mention less often--though it's fairly evident--is that I"m a has-been. I haven't played the drums in an organized fashion or been a part of an actual band since I departed undergrad eight years ago. I changed that earlier this week in a quest for a world record.

In an event put on and mostly publicized by a local television station, there was an attempt here in Greensboro to gather 1,776 drummers to set a new world record for number of snare drummers doing a roll at once (the record was set at 1,682 in Germany). When I first caught wind of the attempt, I knew I was in, and my parents set out to grab my snare out of storage in Delaware. Various snafus led to a new snare for me--thanks, Mom!--and as expected, I headed downtown on the 4th to participate.

It was hot. Powerful hot--somewhere in the mid-90s at showtime. Still, it was a fun experience to be among drummers from what seemed to be every walk of life in the contained area where the attempt took place. I had joked earlier that week about the egos that would be present if it were truly 1,776 snare drummers in one place, but the opportunity to be with that many drummers, regardless of primary drum or avocation, was quite cool (though my kingdom for a bass or a set of quads!) And while we left the event not yet knowing if we made the record--we didn't, although we apparently set a new record for the US--I think those involved had a good time. I know I did.

Meanwhile, a couple hundred miles away...

I got an e-mail as an alum of UMBC's Down and Dirty Dawg Band that alums were welcome to join the band in the 4th of July parades in Arbutus and Catonsville. Clearly I'm no longer in the Baltimore area, but I was glad to hear my old band was doing this. To rewind nearly a decade, it was the summer of 2002that we got the first field drums for the pep band, and for Homecoming 2002, we took to the streets for the first time in the Homecoming parade. In spring of 2003 (coincidentally following, but unrelated to, the release of the movie Drumline) the Dog Pound Drumline made its debut, performing at FunkFest. I crossed the stage after that semester, but I've been watching the band like a proud poppa ever since, and it's so good to see them doing big things.

Editor's note: I've got a survey I'm doing to take a look at this blog and its overall picture If you're reading this, please consider going one post back and providing feedback. Thanks!

Survey!

2011-07-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

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DCI ShowDay

2011-06-27T16:19:00.000-04:00

It is with this post that I'm officially adding the "harebrained schemes" tag. I'm sure if the folks at DCI ever give these the time of day, they're thinking "not this guy again..."
It's drum corps season! This year's competition got underway this past weekend down in Texas with shows in the Ft. Worth area and the Austin area, both featuring all of the top eight corps in what I've decided to refer to as the Daytona 500 of the drum corps season. I got to see the second of these competitions in on the big screen during the DCI Tour Premiere, which was shown in movie theaters across the country including, for the first time in a while, one right here in Greensboro.
The theater event was a corollary to something that has been going on for the past several years. With the advent of the Fan Network a few years ago, DCI is in the habit of providing live and near-live content to its fans throughout the country. While there's still nothing like a live event, the fact that I have a 42" TV and a formidable sound system--and every day more and more of America can say the same or better--watching drum corps at home is becoming a better experience. Much as HDTV helped televised lacrosse and hockey, where the ball/puck was once hard to follow, home theater systems make drum corps easier to enjoy at home. And with the ability to see multiple live shows without leaving your living room, a DCI season is likely to feel more like a season than just the one or more shows one may attend each summer.

Now here's where I go a bit rogue. Since there are live broadcasts on Fan Network anyway, why not a weekly show? During college football season College Gameday is a weekly ritual. ESPN liked the idea so much they expanded it to college basketball. Why not do a similar program for DCI? I will add the caveat here that I have on my other harebrained schemes that I'm not forced to operate within the constraints of finances, logistics, or indeed, reality tha DCI is; I'll add the additional disclaimer that I don't know how closely guarded the Gameday copyright is, so I don't know how close such a program could conceivably get. Still, can you imagine tuning into Fan Network each Saturday for a show on location at the spot of one of that evening's competitions? Score recaps, corps or fan interviews, lot warmups, the breakdown from a few corps-knowledgeable talking heads? Not only would it give folks at home something to look forward to, but it would add to the live show experience as well. Just for kicks and grins, imagine this schedule for this summer:

June 18: The season opener from Ft. Worth, TX
June 25: DCI West from Stanford, CA
July 2: Beanpot Invitational from Lynn, MA
July 9: Drums Along the Rockies from Denver, CO
July 16: DCI Minnesota from Minneapolis, MN
July 23: DCI Southwestern Championship from San Antonio, TX
July 30: DCI Southeastern Championship from Atlanta, GA
August 6: DCI Eastern Classic from Allentown, PA
August 13 DCI World Championship Finals from Indianapolis, IN

Wouldn't that make for quite the season? I know I'd be watching.

On the off chance that someone with some power reads this, I’m not proprietary. If I put it online, it’s because I’d love to see it. Steal away!