Hi this is coming from someone who knows nothing about band/football and wants to write smth related to it and google isnt helping (just scrounging for info and tumblr was the first place i could think of):
1. During the game, who comes out on the field first? Band or the football team?
2. If its the football team, when does band come out?
3. Is there an intermission? Do band and football players get to go wherever they want?
4. Does the football team get a chance to watch the marching bands performance? Does band and football players have their own sections on the bleachers or outside of it?
5. What are some small details that some people wouldn’t know about band?
(Don’t feel pressured to answer these questions!!!!)
Hey! I’m always super happy to talk about band so I’m excited to answer these :)
1. The band actually goes on the field first. Before the game starts, the football players go out onto the field to warm up and the band arrives to the stadium after them. We set up in the bleachers with the audience, at least in my school and other places I’ve seen. I could actually talk to people in the audience if they are close to me.
Before the game starts, though, the football players leave the field and the band walks onto the field. We play the national anthem and some fight song while ROTC does stuff. Then the football players run onto the field as we stand on it. Then we March away and go back to the stands. This is from my memory last year though, but I’m pretty sure it’s right ^^’ I have a game Friday so I’ll update lol.
3. After 2nd quarter, there is a break called halftime where the football players leave the field and go into a break building called the halftime hut. They are allowed to stay and watch if they want I think.
The band marches onto the field and performs a halftime show. This is the main thing the band practices for and is the marching part of marching band. Then after halftime, the bands usually have 3rd quarter off to do whatever. We play again for 4th quarter.
4. The football players usually don’t have time to listen to the band, but we play for them when they do something cool to hype them up. Those are called stand tunes, where the football players score a point of get a down and the band plays. We play stand tunes, and the football players can listen. If they are playing though, they probably don’t think of it much; but if they are on the bench I like to think they listen :)
They can watch the halftime show too I think, and it wouldn’t be unrealistic to have a scene where the football team wins and they run to the stands and the band plays for them— we did that once and it was so cool!
As for the bleacher situation, the football players have bleachers by the field they sit on and the band is no where near them, we sit with the audience.
5. The color guard and the cheerleaders are super separate, and the cheerleaders don’t do anything in accordance with the band. They kinda do their own thing; they are pretty close to the football players actually. Also band, marching band specifically, requires a lot of practice! We meet twice a week, almost 3 hours a practice, and it gets hot!
Also, the front assemble is a thing that some bands have, but not all. It’s only if your band is big. It is a group of instruments, such as drums, keys, and other percussion that stand at the front of the field and don’t move. They play though!
Also, the drum majors are not the band presidents. Those are separate entities usually, the drum majors are chosen by the director and the band president is chosen by the band population. However, the drum majors hold the same social authority as the president in most cases and people respect them a lot.
Alright, that was a lot lol, feel free to ask anything else or for clarification! Have a great day!
