Originally Posted by
Rus-La
if i'm not mistaken, this subject has been hashed out on this board time and time again into oblivion... some say move, some say stay... but if you really want to see why the band should stay on the 50 from now until the end of time, look no further than the pictures posted by liteman in the "attendence" thread on the "football - touchdown tim ratttay" forum... that should remove all doubt and put everyone on the same page.
does it really matter if no other school has their band on the 50 like tech??? really, i can't seem to figure out why people care about that... just because usc, lsu, texas, ohio, florida, etc. don't do it doesn't mean we shouldn't... give us an 80,000 seat horseshoe that sells out everytime, then maybe we can talk about moving... (wishful thinking?) even when reading all the arguments going back and forth, it still perplexes me as to why you would give a damn what others do, or why it would matter with "general admission" seats anyway... this is tech and this is one area i'm glad we don't copy the "big" schools
the "big" schools toss the band off to the side (or like lsu, in the nose bleeds-our "pep band" had better seats than they did when we played lsu back in 04) and they have absolutey NO effect... because the band doesn't matter at most univeristies... spirited or not, most universities don't look at the band at all as anything more than taking away revenue because they take up seats that can be sold... some are reconsidering that stance and more though because of the support big donor alumni have been throwing at schools lately to have the band at big away games (especially non conf game) and such (i.e. an ohio state alumni footing the entire bill to send the entire osu band to the osu v. tx game-then donating more millions to the athletic dept, and he brought some buddies with even more money) and then donating even more on top of that... bands are the biggest thing at football games besides the game themselves...
i can tell you just from the "talk" about the possibilty of the band moving, you will all but destory the atmosphere the band tries to create because the band members themselves would "revolt" and not put their 100% in it anymore... then, we really will be like every other school, especially the "big" boys. it's not because we are selfish (maybe just a little), but we refuse to be the "red headed step child" and that is exactly what will be the feeling the band would get. the band draws a LOT of it's energy from being right there, in the thick of everything. putting us off to the side would tell us we're not important or anything else, therefore we would wonder why be all cheery and all? you'll be telling us our passion and pride mean nothing and we are just another "run of the mill" spirit group... if you want to know what the band is like, look at what i posted on the "how many games did you attend?" thread about the band... this university needs that type of passion and pride, among other things, and batting down the few people or groups that are like that destroys all progress. the band was ok when i was growing up, but COMPLETELY changed when they moved to the 50 somwhere between 1997-1999. and it has been getting stronger ever since.
if anything, the band should stay on the 50, but in the section above... that's the only reasonable compromise to give both sides what they want... but keep them where they are until we have the horseshoe stadium being designed and the sellout crowds of 80,000... then we will see where we NEED them... right now, we have a great setup and it's not broken and there is nothing wrong in any other way about it - so keep it... if you want to change something, worry about the stuff that really needs to change (prez, ad, coaches, facilities, alumni, etc.)
and with all of that, i did answer your questions...