A sport is "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or a team competes against one another or others for entertainment." Most people think of sports and think football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, softball or soccer. However, marching band takes just as much skill, practice and effort as any other sport would.
1. Marching band takes skill
Learning how to read music, play an instrument, march in straight lines, stay in step, keep a good horn angle and perform dynamics and accents takes a lot of skill and many years of practice to perfect. Practicing agility, throwing, catching, passing, dribbling and more takes skill from other athletes just like skill is needed in marching band from musicians.
2. Marching band has no timeouts or substitutions
In most sports, there is a plethora of extra players waiting on the sideline for their chance to play, but in band, there are no substitutions for the tuba player who twists their ankle or the flute player who passes out. Everyone performs until the show is over no matter what. Also, if third chair alto saxophone gets confused on their spot, they can't call a timeout to discuss what is happening. This is a disadvantage to marching band that should be considered when talking about what is and is not a sport.
3. Rain or shine, we play
Marching band in 100-degree weather. Done. Marching through a rainy parade. Done. Playing at a 20-degree football game. Done. We are there to perform, no matter what the circumstance, and that takes determination, just like playing football during an ice storm would.
4. Years of practice for years of music
Many people learn an instrument at a young age and practice for many years. Thirty minutes a day for about seven years equals approximately 76,650 minutes of practice and many kids practice much more. Also, while not all band kids continue playing after they graduate, they have still put in the time and effort now, so why not appreciate and celebrate their hard work? Training for a sport takes many years, as well. Years of running, strength conditioning and practicing technique for any sport is just as difficult as years of playing, standing at attention and learning technique.
5. We are our own version of cheerleaders
Aside from all of our own competitions, we love cheering for everyone else's! Many people do not consider cheerleaders athletes either (don't get me started on that one), but the marching band and cheerleaders work so hard to make sure others are entertained at so many sporting events, yet they are never considered a sport of their own. Why does that make sense when they work just as hard as the sports teams?
Cheerleaders,
The marching band thinks you are athletes. Thank you for your work! Go team!
Sincerely, a drum major.
6. We just want to be equals
Marching band is not harder than an Olympic level sport, and we don't want to be. We just want some appreciation for all of the work we put in. We cheer for the football team and the basketball team and many more, but how many of them come to our contests? How many of them treat us like we also work hard?
Think about that the next time you're listening to your school's fight song being played at a football game, and you're talking during the halftime show.
