October signifies a lot of things to many people. It represents the official start of the fall. Football season (both Pro and College), is in full swing. Baseball sets about the task of determining it’s World champ for another year. In many respects, October represents the ending on one journey and the beginning of another. For those of us that follow HBCU marching bands, the fun is just getting started. October for the HBCU fan is a virtual smorgasbord of Classics, Huge Divisional Games, and tailgating galore. For the bandsman, it’s gut check time. It’s time for old rivalries to be renewed and new ones to be born. It’s a time to hate that opponent across the field in the stands, at least until after the game. It’s a time when the best of the best begin to set themselves apart from the pack. It’s simply on e of the best times to be a part of the HBCU experience.
This year is particularly special because it represents our official arrival as a media attraction. The days of closed venues and lack-luster media attention are long gone, replaced by high-profile BOTB events, movies, and a load of cameo appearances. Networks like MBC have made it a priority to give us our shine along side black college athletics. Yes, this is a truly special time for all of us that love “the craft”. For the first time ever, all band programs have the means to increase their own exposure. Where there used to be word-of-mouth, there’s the internet…Where there were paper advertising campaigns, they’re radio and T.V. commercials. Yeah folks, we’ve officially become “Big Time”.
Unfortunately, they’re still some “small-time” minds that need to be brought into the light, so to speak. For HBCU programs, our testimonials are our performances. We’re the other half of that “package deal” that makes HBCU football appealing for the average fan. In saying that, our excellence on the field has to evolve with the times. There are some out there among us that being apart of an established program automatically satisfies your obligation as a bandsman to entertain the fans. In reality, it’s quite the contrary. Our programs have to set the bar even higher than it has in the past. We have to become even more creative to keep our collective edge razor sharp. Parity and competition on an even basis is the key to attaining that level. Sometimes, you have to mix the conventional with the revolutionary to keep things fresh. Just keeping the status quo isn’t extraordinary anymore. You blend innovation with that consistency to set yourself apart from the pack these days. That stark truth will become more evident as more and more of these high profile competitions and exhibitions become commonplace.
Some folks (including yours truly) have openly supported the push to organize a competitive event to determine a # 1 program from season to season. While that dream may be off in the near horizon, events like the Honda Battle of The Bands provides HBCU programs with the same challenge to think outside the box. The programs that are invited to this event have the challenge of setting the bar higher than the previous event did.
Yes, we finally got our 15 minutes in the limelight. It’s going to take even more collective excellence to turn that 15 minutes into an established media event. For what it’s worth, I’m betting on the latter…
This is Crazylegs, and I’ve said my piece…