Oh, for the love of...Marching Band!

I'm a bit dumbfounded.  I'm not sure what to think.  The world has turned inside up & downside out!  It's CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess I should back up a bit and give you some history.  My family's love affair with marching band began in the fall of 1992.  I was a freshman in high school.  We had someone (or more) in the marching band every fall through the 2004 season (Neal's junior year.)  We knew everything there was to know about marching bands in Colorado during that time.  Since then, we've kept up a little.  We got to competitions every now and then.  We've known a few kids in the band over the years.  But what I saw today shocked me.  I looked at the rankings going into the State competition, which takes place a week from tomorrow.

What happened to the power house schools?  For years, there were a handful of schools that were always at the top.  They were dynasties!  They were the most feared bands in Colorado!  Some were hated (because they weren't nice), others loved (or at least tolerated.)  Now I look at the list, and I don't even recognize many of the schools.  I see schools that used to make finals every year with scores well below 50 (out of a possible 100).  I see my beloved alma mater as the highest-scoring band in the state, regardless of class.  (Sorry, I just had to throw that fact out there.  Go Loveland!)  The former marching giant, who shall remain nameless (but if you know Colorado bands, you know who I'm talking about) is in a different class than it used to be, is not in 1st place.  WHAT?!?!  What the heck is going on?  I am flabbergasted.  Gobsmacked. Stupified.  Dumbfounded.  WHAT MADNESS IS THIS?!

Here is why I think this is happening:

1. New Schools:  for years they weren't building new schools in the areas where the powerhouse marching schools were.  Now there are all kinds of new schools popping up, and it's breaking up the huge bands.
2. New Directors: most of the directors that were around when I was in school have retired.  Even the ones that were there when my siblings were in school are gone.  Some directors have maintained the tradition of excellence.  Some have not, for whatever reason.  It's hard to tell.  I don't have many connections to the bands anymore.
3. New Students:  Obviously, you can't be in your high school band more than a couple of years.  Well, I guess you could, but who would want to stay in high school that long?  Is the mentality of the marching geek so different from 10 years ago?  Maybe it is.  Who knows?  We were crazy back then.  Ask my sister about the "Late Bus Home" as motivation and how they practiced in a blizzard even when the director said they could stay inside that day.
   

We devoted everything to marching band.  We scheduled our Fall around it.  I gave up a role in the Fall play for it.  (Which seems kind of silly now considering that I do theatre way more than I play my flute, but at the time, marching band was KING!)  When my brother announced that he would not be marching his senior year (he'd done his four years...started as an 8th grader.  And there were some extenuating circumstances that I really don't need to discuss in this forum.), we didn't know what we were going to do.  How would we be spending our weekends in October?  We've survived, obviously...and our bank accounts are a little fuller this time of year.  But, that was quite the culture shock when it was all over. 

So when we look at the scores and rankings (and the bands...my dad & sister did attend Northern Regionals last Wednesday), we are amazed at the changes.  What a difference 5 years makes.  The times, they are a-changing!  It's nice to know, however, that things in Loveland are just about the same as they ever were.  3 high school bands, 3 very different philosophies.  I'll just leave it at that.