A traditional summer topic - The worst marching band in the SEC

[Optimus Prime 4]

[No message]

 

[mredge]

There have been hundreds of changes in college football in the last fifty years. Why has halftime at games pretty much stayed the same except for a updating the music to 30 years past its prime. </p>

 

[alabamadog]

you will get some what the 17 reactions.

 

[Rebels7]

What, are y'all Jackson State now?

 

[vhdawg]

How are there people that simply yell "T" when the PA guy clearly asks for "another T"?

 

[onedawg]

It's pretty clear that the FMB's purpose is to do whatever it can to fire up the crowd and help the football team win. Halftime is secondary to that--it's the reason why they do have so many cheers and stand tunes in the folder every year. Dr. Taylor's a great director and he could have the FMB at a similar level to Jacksonville State if performing only one show a season was acceptable, but it isn't for any SEC band.

And Ms. Lance let more and more control go during the time I was in the band. By my last season (2008) she never even got on the podium anymore at the games, letting Dr. Aarhus (the best game director), Dr. Taylor (also good, he learned quickly from Dr. Aarhus after coming from MGCCC), and the drum majors (a mixed bag) handle the conducting and music selection. At rehearsals she was always there, but usually on the field, not on the tower.

The bigger the Dept. of Music gets and the more talented the students that it and the band can attract, the better the band will sound. We have the talent in Mississippi and surrounding states but Southern and Ole Miss always come first at the IHL board level when it comes to music. That's why there is no Masters degrees offered at MSU even though the Dept. of Music has 150+ undergrads.