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\u2019s 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\u2019s gut check time. It\u2019s time for old rivalries to be renewed and new ones to be born. It\u2019s a time to hate that opponent across the field in the stands, at least until after the game. It\u2019s a time when the best of the best begin to set themselves apart from the pack. It\u2019s simply on e of the best times to be a part of the HBCU experience.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cthe craft\u201d. 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\u2019s the internet\u2026Where there were paper advertising campaigns, they\u2019re radio and T.V. commercials. Yeah folks, we\u2019ve officially become \u201cBig Time\u201d.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, they\u2019re still some \u201csmall-time\u201d minds that need to be brought into the light, so to speak. For HBCU programs, our testimonials are our performances. We\u2019re the other half of that \u201cpackage deal\u201d 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\u2019s 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\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Yes, we finally got our 15 minutes in the limelight. It\u2019s going to take even more collective excellence to turn that 15 minutes into an established media event. For what it\u2019s worth, I\u2019m betting on the latter\u2026<\/p>\n
This is Crazylegs, and I\u2019ve said my piece\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\u2019s World champ for another year. In many respects, October represents the ending on one journey and the beginning of another. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorials"],"yoast_head":"\n