Bands at Football games

In 5th grade I started band. I began on the clarinet and in 7th grade I moved to the Tuba. I loved it so much that I wanted to teach music when I got older. I started my college career as a music major back in 1985. I was in, and loved, marching band from 7th grade through college.


For those that don’t know, there are certain rules and etiquettes that should be followed when playing in a band at a football game. First and foremost, people go to football games to watch the game, not to be entertained by the band. Other rules include:
- If there are two school bands, the home band gets to play first, then the bands alternate when playing for time-outs and between plays.
- The scoring team’s band gets to play their school fight song
This next one is huge…
- He band only plays between plays if there is no penalty and/or only until the offense breaks huddle and moves to the line of scrimmage.


Why the lesson in band etiquette? My wife and I went to a local college football game tonight and were appalled by the actions of the band. The school does not have their own band and uses a local “One More Time Around” band made up of people that were part of a band in past years and still love to play. The director had the band playing every time the play stopped on the field and kept them playing until the ball snapped. Because the band was playing, both the away AND home teams could not hear audible calls on the field and the play was delayed multiple times because of the inability to hear. The band played during penalty calls and we couldn’t hear the referee… it was extremely irritating!


I plan on contacting both the school and the band and discussing the normal etiquettes of bands at football games. I hope that they will be amiable to the idea of cutting back on the music so that the game can be better enjoyed.