Off-Season Musings – 2017

Another Summer…Another period of nothingness to deal with until the start of the 2017-2018 football (we REALLY mean marching band) season kicks off in August. Life’s had some pretty interesting jokes for your friendly neighborhood blogger since the last time I dusted off the blog, so I’m happy and blessed to be back in the mode of doing what i enjoy, which is talking about HBCU Band Programs.

*DEEP BREATH*

Now that the mini testimonial’s out of the way, lets take this time to pose some questions that are bound to come up as the start of the season gets closer:

1) Will Talladega College emerge from behind it’s own Inauguration Shadow?

The last time we saw this band program in the national spotlight, they were marching in the inauguration parade of one of the most polarizing president-elects this country has ever seen. LOTS of heat from both the HBCU community, and Black America in general, so there’s really no need to re-hash some of the pleasantries the program and school has had to deal with post-parade. The question for fans (and followers of HBCU Band Culture) is HOW will this program be received this fall when they take the field. Are there bound to be hard receptions for the band’s decision to participate in a Trump inauguration? Probably. That being said, on-field excellence can go a long way toward making potential audiences forget the politics of the past season. At the end of the day, the program STILL has a LOT of talent and potential to put a really unique product on the field. The question is WHEN will that evolution happen?

2) Has the Queen City BOTB event usurped HONDA as the de facto showcase for HBCU Marching Band performance and Culture?

Make no mistake; The HONDA Battle Of The Bands Showcase has served as a HUGE platform to exhibit not only the spectacle of HBCU Marching Bands on the field, but the fellowship and love that is a hallmark of the HBCU experience in general. For 15 years, the HONDA event has had the run of Atlanta to showcase programs from every corner of the HBCU geographical map. however, as voting and interest among marquee names has waned, the Charlotte (or Queen City) BOTB event has evolved into the highlight event to kick-off the start of the season, with iconic programs from the SWAC, MEAC, and Independents (like Tennessee State and Talladega), turning the event into a must see for fans to kick off the performance season. A bigger potential evolution for events like these remains; Will we SEE the BOTB evolve into an actual seasonal competition to crown a true pecking order in our performance art? It’s not a far fetched idea, as online media sources like Campus Insiders and the ESPN sponsored Undefeated media hub have expressed growing interest in seeing an event of this nature come to fruition. Events like the National Collegiate Marching Band Championships may indeed be a step in that direction.

3) Will a MEAC program besides A&T, Bethune, and FAMU make that leap back to prominence?

The MEAC band scene has seen better days. There was a time when programs like Howard, South Carolina State, and Hampton were effectively the depth of the conference. Really good programs that made head-to-head performances worth going to. It hasn’t been like that in a number of years. Some programs have fallen victim to budget cuts (Norfolk has perennially been considered part of the class of the conference, but shrinking numbers have set their visibility back), while others have just not made the type of jump to really make the conference competitively deep again. Morgan State exhibits growing potential, but needs the exposure of increased travel to develop their on-field product even more. the Queen City BOTB should give us an idea as to where at least one of the MEAC’s traditional stalwarts will be at the beginning of the season. 

Will someone besides Southern and Jackson State take a leap forward in the SWAC?

When you mention the Southwestern Athletic Conference and marching bands in the same sentence, odds are that the two programs mentioned above will be the first programs to come to mind. In a conference that oozes parity and competition, the Human JukeBox and The Sonic Boom of the South have been the faces of the conference for a long time. While that doesn’t look to change anytime soon, there are a number of talented programs in conference ready to make the leap and carve out a niche of their own. Alabama State, Alabama A&M, Texas Southern, PVAMU, and UAPB all look to build on promising seasons from last year. There may be two tiers in the conference, but the gap has closed a bit between the two, and the competition throughout will be as good as it has been in decades. it’s a good time to be a SWAC fan.

Yep…The season is still a month or so away, but it’s about time that bandheads start getting back into the swing of things. THIS bandhead can’t wait!

Until Next Entry!!!
#SnapSnapDrive!!!