Is the marching band a sport

[Nitro14]

truely cannot wait for the season to start!

 

even though it will be college football and band for me this year... :'(

 

Good luck to you and enjoy college!

[herefortheband]

thanks for a kind comment nitro!!!

[helapaxt]

I just watched the Olympics a few days ago. If those are sports, then so is marching band. You practice your skill, you must be in good shape to be truly competitive, it requires practice and discipline and you are rewarded with a score when you compete. Has all the markings of a sport.

[heftylefty]

for all who think band is a sport i suppose you think choir is a sport as well...? hahaha

[voiceofrockets]

I just watched the Olympics a few days ago. If those are sports, then so is marching band. You practice your skill, you must be in good shape to be truly competitive, it requires practice and discipline and you are rewarded with a score when you compete. Has all the markings of a sport.

 

 

 

Then why isn't football in the Olympics?

[vanburen]

i like the band

[bobcat93]

i lke the band and cheerleaders don't get me wrong,but if cheerleading and band are sports why do they perform at football games?i could do without the band and cheerleaders at a football game.

[BuckeyeGal]

Maybe some marching bands have less disciplin than I did, but at Brentwood High School Mr. Box always had us moving. We were always running to where we needed to be, and did well over 100 push-ups a day, no joke just watch one day of band camp. Back in the 2002 marching season I know for a fact that we put in more time practicing than the football team, you know how I know it... our practice feild was right next to the football team. As I recall their coach (Jack Daniels) commented one day, "Wow the band always stays longer than the football team!" Not only does the band play at half time on Friday nights, they also have competitions on Saturdays... ALL DAY! Football is a sport, but why is it concidered a sport? Because of the competitive nature of it? Well if you google marching bands, check out the Contest of Champions, or even the summer Marching Core pages you will see how competitive it is. I know I could never play football, but I would like to see some football players try and survive a Brentwood High School Band Camp, it starts at 8am and goes well into 9pm for a week! The last thing, what is the definition of the word sport? It is an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc. OK, if fishing and hunting are concidered a sport, then marching band is most deffinately a sport!

[Sovreign]

Wow, these band board posts are pretty sparse. I think more people should get on and debate!

 

In response to this really old topic, I'm going to weigh in that by definition, band is indeed a sport. As is golf, tennis, cricket, badminton, and even twister! I think there are 2 clarification points to be made. These will be made purely on a football vs. band basis, as that is obviously what this thread mostly consists of to this point anyway.

 

1. It is good that no physical extracurricular/competitive activities are excluded from the mantle of "sport." Even though the words of the argument are only debating nomenclature, the general atmosphere oftentimes is that band is somehow inferior and therefore denied that label. I contend that, while different in its means of activity and competitions, it is still, for all intents and purposes, technically a sport, and therefore not entitled to descrimination on that front.

 

2. HOWEVER! I'm going to agree mostly with Lc68 on this one. Just because band is technically a sport, that doesn't make it as exciting to watch or as athletically based as football. It also doesn't mean that band physically works as hard as football. I don't think it works as INTENSELY as football does. As a person who has been a member of a AAAAA football team AND a high school marching band, I know how hard people in band work. Many times they MAY put in more hours. Not always, however. My friends and I worked out for about 4 hours each day ON TOP of practice to maintain our competitive form during my football years. I think it's terribly obvious that nothing any band member does during its competition is as physically grueling as running, tackling, or blocking at full speed after already doing so for hours and taking numerous bone-jarring hits. Again, as Lc68 said, this is evidenced by the many extremely non-athletic band members that are found throughout almost every band.

 

Verdict: While band is a sport, football is a much more rigorous test of athleticism and strength. To be a starting football player in a large high school program is difficult, to say the least. You HAVE to be physically talented. On the other hand, PHYSICAL TALENT is not really a requirement for band, and nor does it stand out through means of band competition if a member DOES possess it. The standouts are those who can march up to par and display MUSICAL talent. You can be the biggest, fastest band member in the world, but if you stink at your instrument, you are going nowhere, as how big and fast you are doesn't matter other than the fact that you can competently march. Therefore, football is the athletic winner. Football is a more athletically difficult sport. If we feel we need to subclassify ourselves differently, so be it. Make up a new name for sports like football, basketball, soccer, etc. My opinion is that we don't. We should just realize that while it takes a tougher athlete to be a football player, it takes a much more talented musician to be a band member. There is no overall superior or inferior between the 2. One may make more money than the other, and therefore be dominant, but that still only measures popularity, which is a collection of opinions, and not which is "better."

 

To sum it all up, we should just try to get along and improve the historically bad relations between football and band. After all, football and band are 2 different branches on the same tree. They are both SOLELY for entertainment. Even up to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra or the NFL. Think about it.

[HHSSoccerFanatic]

Wow, these band board posts are pretty sparse. I think more people should get on and debate!

 

In response to this really old topic, I'm going to weigh in that by definition, band is indeed a sport. As is golf, tennis, cricket, badminton, and even twister! I think there are 2 clarification points to be made. These will be made purely on a football vs. band basis, as that is obviously what this thread mostly consists of to this point anyway.

 

1. It is good that no physical extracurricular/competitive activities are excluded from the mantle of "sport." Even though the words of the argument are only debating nomenclature, the general atmosphere oftentimes is that band is somehow inferior and therefore denied that label. I contend that, while different in its means of activity and competitions, it is still, for all intents and purposes, technically a sport, and therefore not entitled to descrimination on that front.

 

2. HOWEVER! I'm going to agree mostly with Lc68 on this one. Just because band is technically a sport, that doesn't make it as exciting to watch or as athletically based as football. It also doesn't mean that band physically works as hard as football. I don't think it works as INTENSELY as football does. As a person who has been a member of a AAAAA football team AND a high school marching band, I know how hard people in band work. Many times they MAY put in more hours. Not always, however. My friends and I worked out for about 4 hours each day ON TOP of practice to maintain our competitive form during my football years. I think it's terribly obvious that nothing any band member does during its competition is as physically grueling as running, tackling, or blocking at full speed after already doing so for hours and taking numerous bone-jarring hits. Again, as Lc68 said, this is evidenced by the many extremely non-athletic band members that are found throughout almost every band.

 

Verdict: While band is a sport, football is a much more rigorous test of athleticism and strength. To be a starting football player in a large high school program is difficult, to say the least. You HAVE to be physically talented. On the other hand, PHYSICAL TALENT is not really a requirement for band, and nor does it stand out through means of band competition if a member DOES possess it. The standouts are those who can march up to par and display MUSICAL talent. You can be the biggest, fastest band member in the world, but if you stink at your instrument, you are going nowhere, as how big and fast you are doesn't matter other than the fact that you can competently march. Therefore, football is the athletic winner. Football is a more athletically difficult sport. If we feel we need to subclassify ourselves differently, so be it. Make up a new name for sports like football, basketball, soccer, etc. My opinion is that we don't. We should just realize that while it takes a tougher athlete to be a football player, it takes a much more talented musician to be a band member. There is no overall superior or inferior between the 2. One may make more money than the other, and therefore be dominant, but that still only measures popularity, which is a collection of opinions, and not which is "better."

 

To sum it all up, we should just try to get along and improve the historically bad relations between football and band. After all, football and band are 2 different branches on the same tree. They are both SOLELY for entertainment. Even up to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra or the NFL. Think about it.

 

 

 

This is pretty much everything I would say.

[Shock8]

Band is clearly a hobby. The only physical contact u get is a possible guy stepping on your heels. Not trying to be mean, but it's easy to see it can not be a sport.

[Newcastle]

Maybe some marching bands have less disciplin than I did, but at Brentwood High School Mr. Box always had us moving. We were always running to where we needed to be, and did well over 100 push-ups a day, no joke just watch one day of band camp. Back in the 2002 marching season I know for a fact that we put in more time practicing than the football team, you know how I know it... our practice feild was right next to the football team. As I recall their coach (Jack Daniels) commented one day, "Wow the band always stays longer than the football team!" Not only does the band play at half time on Friday nights, they also have competitions on Saturdays... ALL DAY! Football is a sport, but why is it concidered a sport? Because of the competitive nature of it? Well if you google marching bands, check out the Contest of Champions, or even the summer Marching Core pages you will see how competitive it is. I know I could never play football, but I would like to see some football players try and survive a Brentwood High School Band Camp, it starts at 8am and goes well into 9pm for a week! The last thing, what is the definition of the word sport? It is an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc. OK, if fishing and hunting are concidered a sport, then marching band is most deffinately a sport!

 

 

 

That was a whole bunch of garbage. You make yourself look stupid by saying. "I know I could never play football." If you know you can't play football, then don't insult it. You have no clue what football players go through during the spring and summer do you? Put on pads and go to spring practice, I'll be laughing when your getting beat up by every single hitting drill. And during the summer, try waking up at around 5 or 6 in the morning, and running 400's till you puke. I'm sure most every single football player will just laugh and be bored during "band camp." Marching Band is not a sport. It is a hobby, nothing else.