March on with your complaints

Memo to the Marching Hundred: It's not about you. We don't want to hear any whining about how former Athletic Director Michael McNeely made you change some of your ways.\nFirst, the reason the Marching Hundred exists is because of the football team. They are supposed to be the main focus. I have heard people say that the band is the best part of the game. This is not supposed to happen, and McNeely was working on making the football team the centerpiece of football Saturdays. I'm sorry, but the band is NOT supposed to be the main attraction.\nThen we see the members complaining about parking farther away and having to carry their instruments farther. I will presume these parking spots are free; otherwise, if you're going to pay, you would buy a $10 parking spot for a closer walk. Or even better, a season parking pass. You shouldn't have to worry about costs since you get a free ticket to each game.\nMeanwhile, your fellow students have to pay for each ticket. We can park for $5, and walk farther than band members do, or we could add $10 to our game-day costs.\nThis doesn't even consider other advantages the band gets. Those that play at the basketball games can go to all of the home games, not six or seven like most of us, and those tickets are also free. Those tickets are pretty good, too -- court level behind a basket, which doesn't compare to row 16 of the balcony. For football games, they get to be on the field every week, whereas if some other student was on the field, it would probably be in a trespassing situation and the resulting arrest would take away the fun of the moment.\nWhen the basketball team advances in the tournament, I'm guessing that some of the band members get to go for free. Actually, I know this is true. One member told me that when she played at a tournament game, band members even got a stipend on the trip. The "regular" students just hope they get called with a chance to buy tournament tickets at face value. If the football team somehow made a bowl game, I bet some of the band members would go to that also, a perk that no band members have been able to take advantage of in almost 10 years, but nevertheless, it exists.\nGranted, it's not all fun and games. The band practices every day; But marching band is actually a class. They have to report to games early, and miss out on tailgating. They have to wear heavy uniforms (although there are maybe two games each year when the weather is warm enough to make the uniforms unbearable).\nIt's debatable whether the band even helps the team, or attendance. They haven't done much for the football team's record, no matter where the band sits. Attendance has been declining, a result of what's on the field, not what's in the stands. Maybe you could argue that in Assembly Hall the band revs the crowd up, but I have a feeling a 10-0 run, or draining a couple of three's, has more to do with that than the band.\nSo yes, it might be unfortunate the band isn't as involved as it used to be, but spare us the complaints. Unless the football team needs the band there to play well, which does not seem to be the case, I suggest the Marching Hundred compare themselves to other students and count their blessings.