Oh…So….It ain’t “Just Us”???

Before we get started with the festivities, I’d like to thank all of the folks over the years that have taken the time to read my thoughts on our craft. It’s something that has become an important part of who I am, so by proxy, the relationships and friends that I’ve gained through talking about the craft are precious to me. Thank you for listening to this lifelong band-head pontificate about his world.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program (already in progress)..*lol*

I, like many other band-heads, were caught off-guard with the very PUBLIC firing of Ohio State’s head band director, Johnathan Waters. The ‘TBDBITL‘ (The Best Damn Band In The Land) is one of those programs whose status transcends the world between what we do as HBCU programs and mainstream College Show Bands in general. The on-field prowess of Ohio State’s program is essentially the poster program for Big 10 football tradition and game-day culture. When you think about College Football, a certain type of imagery comes to mind; Chief Osceola driving his spear into the ground before a game in Tallahassee. The USC Drum Major marching to the center of the field during pre-game, planting is short sword, and claiming victory for the Men of Troy…”Script Ohio” and “Dotting the I” are from that same imagery.

So, when news of the firing (and the allegations of a culture of Sexual Harassment, and other varying levels of dumbassery) became public, Many of us fans on THIS side of the fence were as shocked as the rest of the world.

Ohio State Band Controversy Coverage

Or maybe not….

See, WE’RE not surprised in the slightest. We’ve SEEN this motion picture before with our OWN programs. We’ve SEEN the same show with many of OUR OWN social organizations, fraternities, and sororities. We’re actually used to seeing foolishness like this become VERY public, VERY quickly, for our own schools. We’re used to the inevitable negative media circus that accompanies this type of stupidity. Pretty soon, there will be folks calling for the shutdown (and subsequent banning) of this storied band program. There will even be folks that will go as far to suggest that schools like The Ohio State University aren’t needed any more and that this marching band’s ‘culture’ is a prime example of an outdated need.

WHOOPS…wait a minute…my bad…I forgot that OSU wasn’t an HBCU…NONE of that stuff is gonna happen outside of Columbus…*smh*

See, this “Oh my gawd, I can’t imagine this happening here” mess has me a bit vexed. This type of thing has gone on for DECADES in this organization. It’s gone on for DECADES in just about ANY high-profile social (or performance based) org. where membership to said organization carries a certain type of status with it…The DIFFERENCE is that programs on THAT side of the fence chalk the foolishness up to the game and carry on like it’s business as usual. The media treats it as such.

Will you hear announcers on the Big 10 network drop game commentary to pontificate on how the band ‘damaged’ the credibility of the University? NOPE.

Ohio State University DEFINITELY won’t need a Congresswoman (and alum) to come on the air of a major cable network to say what the rest of us already know:

Make no mistake, the Robert Champion episode was a tragic (some say criminal) chapter of our history. It forced us to take a REAL look in the mirror as it pertains to the traditions associated with our programs. That being said, there’s a difference between correcting a wrong, and USING that wrong to make some sort of misguided ,pseudo-political/social statement about HBCU culture (or even the need for HBCU’s in general). We saw the same thing back in the early 1990’s with Texas Southern’s ill-fated visit to Japan. History repeated itself again a few years later with the now infamous band brawl between Prairie View A&M and Southern University.

Each of these instances have been used by folks (both inside and outside of HBCU circles) to imply that this is representative of the quality and reputation of our programs (and, by proxy, HBCU schools in general).

Will we see the same type of reaction (and  subsequent backlash) against OSU for nature of the stuff that was REALLY going on in THEIR high-profile program?

I won’t hold my breath…In fact, I think I just might go downstairs and put on a pot of tea…I’m just saying.