(I put that last part under the jump as a vague gesture towards pseudonymity, meaning I'm mostly resting on the good graces of all of you, if you realize your life intersects mine, to keep from acting on it.)
Interesting article, heebie! Where in this history do you fit? Were you aware of the marching band at all? I remember being oblivious to all-sports and sports-adjacent activities in high school.
I was in my school's marching band, but I can't imagine it being as important to my life or anyone else's as that school's was. Is it because we were white? Because we were in a small town? Because of general social trends that changed between the 70s and the 90s? Because our band's director sucked? (Probably not the last one, but who knows!)
I started in 1991, a year after the old band director retired and the new one started. So I had friends in band, but I never gave it much thought. My friend who sent me the article said there was still some dancing, at least while there were upperclassmen who overlapped with the previous director.
I was in marching band in high school at a school that was ~70% white and a football powerhouse. We *hated* games against the city schools (this was prior to merging the county and city systems) which at the time were ~90% black because we did the standard white-bread straight-line marching stuff to polite applause, then watch the other band come out and put on an absolute show, to which the entire audience would completely lose their shit.
In 72, 73, 74 we went to a few football games at Stanford, and their band put on quite the show. Rebellious white kids, nothing drawn from Black culture.
In 72, 73, 74 we went to a few football games at Stanford, and their band put on quite the show. Rebellious white kids, nothing drawn from Black culture.
I don't burst with local pride, but even the Wall Street Journal acknowledged that The University has "the best damn band in the land"
https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-ohio-state8217s-band-is-truly-the-best-in-the-land-1383340167
When I got to Columbus, I had to ask what "TBDBITL" stood for. And also what was a Buckeye before it was a football team's furry.
Anyway, the linked article is really interesting and everyone should click through.