My brother John, nephew Max, and sister-in-law Laurie during Parents' Night at the Manistique Emeralds game against Gwinn September 9th. It was a great night made better because the Emeralds won 35-to-6.
As sometimes happens during a lop-sided game we chatted on the sidelines during lulls in the action. It wasn't until my sister Diana mentioned something that I noticed there was no pep or high school band to accompany the cheerleaders and the action on the field.
Seems High School Band was a victim of budget cuts. It seems unnatural that you didn't have music playing on the field. It kind of explains the recorded version of the National Anthem that was played. And I also had some issues with the half time entertainment, which consisted of a guy in a full-length green body stocking face-included doing a lap on the track that circles the field. Thankfully he was wearing some briefs over his midsection.
Back in the day when I was in school I was like others who kind of thought the band students were geeky. Now with time I've come to realize how important it is to young students and how far it can take them. My sister Kathy was good enough on the flute she played to win a trip to Hawaii. For others it's something that colleges consider when they look at the talents of potential students. When people talk about quality of life issues this is one of those things that fits into a niche.
Try and imagine a U-W Badger Football game without the band and the 5th quarter celebration! Football at the high school and college levels should have band accompaniment. It's part of the experience, but alas in these tough economic times no one plays for the band when it comes to budget time.
