Date: Fri 06-Oct-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: TOMW

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

Wyatt-Column-Band

Full Text:

Tom Wyatt/On Sports

Strike Out The Band

Ahh, Homecoming. One of the high school year's first big deals.

Spirit Week precedes the whole event, and is capped off with the big Friday

Pep Rally.

All week long the four high school classes are busy building their respective

parade floats, and voting in their Homecoming Queens and Kings.

Finally, the Homecoming Day football game.

The hills surrounding Bruce Jenner stadium are painted up with each class's

year, and the students stir restlessly through the game's first two quarters -

scurrying to put the finishing touches on their floats and get into costume

for the big parade.

The whistle sounds. It's halftime.

That's when the band takes the field for a quick number to get things started,

right? Not the Newtown High School band. This town's pretentious band, " one

of the best bands in the land, " dominated the majority of the halftime break

as it performed five or six numbers to the narcissistic ooohs and ahhhs of its

mommies and daddies.

The kings and queens finally were introduced, and the floats were hurried

around the NHS track in third gear. As the senior float passed in front of the

grandstand the second half of the football game kicked off.

Its very nice that this town pays so much attention to its high school band.

Music is a wonderful thing, and having the band at home football games

provides so much extra excitement.

The school fight song traditionally blares after every Newtown touchdown, and

the Indian war chant brings goose bumps to the back of every neck in the

joint. A football game just isn't the same without the band.

The band, though, needs to look past its arrogance and see things in the

proper perspective. It, like the cheerleaders, are at the game because of the

game. Just because its spanky new uniforms cost more than a Brooks Brothers

tuxedo, just because it marched in the Rose Bowl Parade last year, and just

because its members outnumber the NHS football team threefold, that doesn't

give the band and its holier-than-thou attitude the right to dominate the

Homecoming Day halftime ceremonies.

It should have had the common courtesy to take a back seat.

The band competes at its own competitions and, to its credit it is one of the

better bands in the area. But at a football game, its job is to support the

team. The tail doesn't wag the dog.