Every Friday night, the seats of Dragon Stadium fill up with anticipating fans, parents, and students. Most of us will never have a chance to actually be on the field running, catching, and calling plays. However, there is one group who really brings football games to life: the band. Our award-winning band is a a 200+ student organization that brings music and enthusiasm to various sporting events and other gatherings. But there is a major problem: we can’t hear them play.
The band should be moved back to the home side bleachers.
High school bands provide much needed spirit and support which can drive comebacks. This positive morale boost for the players can sway the outcome of a game. When the football team is lacking enthusiasm, they need the band behind them, literally. The band has the power of influencing a winning or losing season for the Dragon Football Team.
Additionally, the band is virtually undetectable to their fans due to their distance from the home side. During a game, it is crucial that fans hear the home team’s band louder than the visitor’s. The first game against Lumberton highlights this matter. Many fans who attended stated that they could not hear our band, especially when they were playing at the same time as the Lumberton band.
One of the biggest reasons for the band sitting on the away side is the limited seating on the home side. However, the band didn’t begin sitting on the away side consistently until three years ago due to COVID-19 and social distancing protocols. Before that time, the band and drill team most often sat in the home side stands nearest the score board. The space available has not changed; if there was room then, there is room now.
Mr. Weems, head band director, is currently collaborating with Coach House and Mr. Autrey regarding building new seating in the end zone. However, this comes down to the issue of funding, according to Weems, and this topic is not one that can be resolved within Nacogdoches High School, but requires attention from all of the NISD school board. While this might be a great solution for the future, it does nothing to help the players and fans this year.
The solution is that the band should absolutely be seated on the home side in order to boost morale when it is most needed, thus having a positive impact on the 2023-24 football season. Students and the community should advocate for the band to have a stronger presence by coming back where they belong.
Ja’Brandon Chatman • Oct 1, 2023 at 1:39 pm
Bring our band back home, I totally agree! The band should have more crowd interaction, especially with the students! This could bring back a better and stronger student section, and boost morale as more people will become engaged with the best FNL experience in East Texas at Dragon Stadium!
Abigail Allman • Sep 27, 2023 at 9:20 am
Love this! I agree that the band should be moved to the home side.
Molly Pitts • Sep 27, 2023 at 9:18 am
This is an excellent article! I agree with you stance and would love to hear more about this!
Stephen • Sep 26, 2023 at 2:39 pm
1. Why does the band, not ours because they aren’t show, face the home crowd when performing?? So you can hear them!! If the band is on the home side, who will hear them when they play? The visitors!!
2. Why does the band and most student sections in college sit behind the visitors? To be loud and disrupt communications for the visiting team.
Ja’Brandon C. • Oct 1, 2023 at 2:19 pm
1. Our band is primarily there because there is a football game going on, although halftime entertainment occurs it’s just a bonus of having a game. This would be the only time I’d argue to make it a must the band face the home crowd(during halftime). Whereas the argument of not being able to hear them on the home side that is scientifically not true as sound doesn’t just travel in straight lines, once it hits the visiting side/any other obstacles it will refract. As of the current band seating they are playing towards the main home entrance gate/ the parking lot, not the stands(it is hard to hear the band now). Any band should be heard throughout the entire stadium home team or not, and if you worry of not being heard as a first defense in argument you might need to raise the volume while playing. Also a sense of engagement with the home crowd could/should influence sound and playing occurrence in the stands.
2. To compare NHS to a college ball game atmosphere is a bit outside the box, as our stadium build is quite different. SFASU(and most other colleges) have the purple haze(student section) next to their band, which is one reason their seating works well for them also the visiting band is placed in a higher smaller section. NHS is on the same level as the visiting band and next to their fans, by introducing SFASU(or a college) atmosphere and having a student section there to “be loud and disrupt communications” would further compromise the safety of students while also creating a smaller home crowd. The opposite of what building a strong football program is about, putting more people in seats for our student athletes! (Which is still possible with our band on the home side)
NHS has built awesome programs through the band, football team, drill team, and many other fine arts and athletic activities. Regardless of the movement of the band/drill team I will always support NHS!