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Marching Band Should Be Considered a Sport
When the average person thinks of sports they think of football, soccer, baseball, hockey, or basketball. Yeah those are all great sports, but what about those sports that aren't sports, but should be? Marching band should be considered a sport for many reasons. Marching band fits all the definitions for a sport (and it follows them to perfection). There are many statistics to reveal marching band is a sport and how hard the members work. As a member of the FMHS Wildcat Marching Band, I know we put forth an asonishing amount of time and practice to become he great athletes we are today.
One of the most commonly accepted definitions of a sport activity is: "a physical activity which involves propelling a mass through space or over coming the resistance of a mass." In marching band, the color guard (the girls with the flags, etc.) toss flags, rifles, sabers, etc. into the air. And those instruments! Some can weigh fifty pounds or more! The one I had was at least twenty pounds. That's definitely more than football gear!
Another definition is, "a contest or competition against or with an opponent." There are many competitive marching bands out there that compete against countless opponents at each show. One of the best competitive marching band shows is the World Championship Finals, publicized each year on ESPN (a sports channel), just like other sports. There are more than 400,000 fans at each live event.
There are many studies evaluating how much marching band members perform. One study shows one marching band member, during a parade, works harder than a football player does during a game. When conmpared to a parade, a marching band member works about twice as hard in a field show.
Another study shows that marching band members actually NEED skills! One member needs to work every part and muscle of their body. A member needs to know how to properly march, have their music completely memorized, count, move, play, and remember what to do before and after the show, all at the same time. How many football players can count and catch a ball at the same time? Sure they have to remember the play, but that's just one thing. Football players need skills too, but they don't need as many. Marching band members have to remember at least six things all at once. One member can multi-task better than any other athlete in another sport.
As a member of a marching band, I know how hard we all work. In one season, I drank four times a much water then when we weren't practicing. I also lost ten pounds in one season. We practiced daily for hours upon end. I can lift heavier things now then I could before,
In summary, is marching band a physical activity? Yes. Is marching band undertaken competitivley? Yes. It fits all the definitions of a sport, right? Yes! There are more definitions and statistics but I don't want to bore you. So, the next time you are walking down the hallway and you see someone with a lettermans jacket that says "Band" don't think "What a band geek," think, "What a great athlete!"
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This article has 171 comments.
And granted that football players do have to remember some things; we have to remember a lot more than they do. We have to memorize out music, out sets, the way we get to our sets, we have to stay in step, following the hands of the drum major, fit our sound inside the ensemble, play with good sounds, not let our marching affect our playing, march with great technique, we have to cover down so that the form looks correct from above, and so so so much more than that.
As for action, there's plently of that. You obviously don't know much about music, because that's where all the action is at; in the music, as well as visual effects. I understand that some bands don't do visual effcts, or are usually in a time crunch, so they can't make it as visually compelling, but it is possible, and some bands do get this accomplished. Just go look online. If you look for the right stuff, it's there. It really isn't that hard to find. I would also like to encourage you to watch some stuff from DCI, because they have some of the best bands preforming.
And suspense? There is plently of that; once again, it's located in the music, and with visual effects. Everything that you said isn't there most certainly is there, I assure you.
The injuries happen usually on a daily basis, we have to remember a whole lot more than football players do (not to mention that marching band takes a whole lot more talent. I'm not saying any fool could waltz out on the field with a ball and be the next MVP, but it doesn't take someone with a whole lot of talent to figure it out. Marching band takes months of practice, and years of playing musically to be able to do it, and to do it great.), and the suspense and action is all on the field, you just have to know where to look and what you're looking for.
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