From the t-shirt cannon after a touchdown to pinkies linked as the school song is played, football games are filled with school spirit. Football players are essential for Friday Night Lights, but the band is just as crucial for school spirit.
“Fortunately, in Texas, the band is as much of the ‘Friday Night Lights’ culture and is easily a staple that speaks for itself,” band director Jacob Ramos said. “The band helps provide the overall soundtrack to an ever-progressing game.”
The band contributes to FNL in a way that no other organization does. Music affects people more than they know, and the marching band is no exception. The band’s music encourages football players to push themselves to their fullest potential as the game progresses.
“The music really gets the blood flowing, and we all get locked in,” senior football player Levi Sipes said. “The loud music and the loud cheering make the team and me play harder.”
Not only do the football players get pumped by the band’s music, but the cheerleaders do as well. Whether they participate by dancing to ESPN or the band engages in their chants, both are affected by each other’s school spirit.
“The band’s music really affects us while we’re cheering because when we hear a song start playing, it gets us really excited to do the dances or routines we made,” senior cheerleader Taylor Dark said. “We have a lot of fun showing off our skills during the songs.”
The music that the band plays increases excitement about the football game happening around them. The crowd, especially the student section, anticipates the band’s music and expects the mood and school spirit to be heightened throughout the night.
“I think [the band] affects us because it always gets us hype even when we’re not feeling it that certain day,” sophomore MoJoe Leader Noah Procell said. “It’s almost like we’re in a huge atmosphere instead of a small 3A field.”
The band affects football players, cheerleaders, the crowd and the student section. School spirit is boosted through stand tunes that get people hype and on their feet. Performing the fight song at the end of a game, following a win, or playing a stand tune that everyone can appreciate creates a bond that no other organization can recreate.
“Playing the fight song after a win is exhilarating,” freshman flutist Alexis Floyd said. “It’s nice to know that the football team exerted their best effort, and the band gets to celebrate with them by playing the fight song and being super noisy.”