SMU Alumni "snub" football student atheletes

[lwjr]

When does the team make the "walk" to the stadium? I would hope the band would play "Peruna" whether it is the alumni or the current Mustang Band.

[gostangs]

i thought this was a serious topic - but it is a joke. If you want the alumni band just ask in advance. Not sure what the circumstances are but I can assure you the alumni band would do almost anything to advance SMU, and they are not snubbing anyone over a silly mascot controversy.

unlike other bands our band is for the university first, team second, and themselves last.

We are not getting the whole story here.

[kelprinz]

I'm a band alum. I am not a member of the Alumni Band. I wasn't there. I do know most regularly participating members of the Alumni Band. I would be SHOCKED if this were true exactly as described. I can assure you that if the Band or the Alumni Band is needed anywhere on campus, we ALWAYS answer the call. We're there til the bitter end win, lose, or draw at Football and Basketball games and have been for decades. We're there for parades, spirit rallies, etc. We are the Hub of SMU Spirit and are loyal to the core.

I'm GUESSING that a football player asked some random alum who is NOT the director and NOT the spokesman, and that random Alumni Band member was unable to organize the group to play since it wasn't scheduled and he wasn't the director.

I know the Band and its Alums can get a little nutty about piped in music, the feeling that the school and the teams don't appreciate us, the coaches, traditions, etc, but I can't imagine an Alumni Band member snubbing ANYONE from SMU - especially a current football player.

I REALLY hope this was just a misunderstanding.

[DiamondM]

Having consulted my sources, the football team walked the Boulevard more than an hour before the alumni band was asked to "officially" (if a volunteer alumni band organization can be said to do anything "official") meet to get ready to play on the Boulevard. There were some members at the Diamond M Club Tent (which is the band alumni fundraising organization), but not all instruments were represented, and even for those that were there, not all instruments were out and assembled.

I don't think this was a snub, but clearly there is some miscommunication between the football team (or the team's parents?) and the alumni band. If the school/team wants a band to serenade them for the walk each week, I suggest they contact Don Hopkins who can work out a schedule and a plan with either the actual band or can forward the request to the appropriate leaders of the alumni band. I will say however, that the team and their parents must keep in mind the nature of the membership and the role of the alumni band -- just a bunch of old farts getting together to add a little atmosphere to game days.

[Nacho]

the alumni band shouldn't get paid for the next game.

[MustangLassie]

Looks like there was a misunderstanding here.

If the athletic dept requests that the alumni band play, generally we do our best to do so. In this case, I don't think the AB directors were aware in advance that the team coming down the blvd at that time. I know it may be hard to tell this sometimes, but the alumni band does try not to sound like crap when playing our fight song. What that requires in instrumentation on all the parts, especially the ones with the melody and we need drums, otherwise Peruna sounds more like a fire engine horn than a song. In this case, the mini-parade occurred a half an hour before the alumni band was requested to be there. What little group did arrive early was partaking of the mid-day meal.

Now... speaking for myself, I have no inclination to make the effort to show up early and play for a team that has no interest in it. I cheered for the team as they walked by with their headphones on. Not a one looked like they wanted to be there. What's the point of this display? If it's to fire up the team, it ain't working. If its to show that the team doesn't care that it has fans, they made their point.

FWIW, the Diamond M Club pays for our spot on the blvd, just like everyone else does. It isn't like the Diamond M Club gets something like scholarship money for our actives or a new band hall in exchange for the AB's playing. The band doesn't receive funding from the athletic dept. We do it because it's fun, and it's a way to support the team. And that would have been the AB playing for the team in the second quarter so that the band could freshen up for halftime.

It's a good thing some of us read this board on occasion. Going forward, if you have a gripe about the AB, it would be great of you'd address it first in a private forum ([email protected] should work), as opposed to putting out a one sided bash on our ALL VOLUNTEER organization.

[DiamondM75]

the alumni band shouldn't get paid for the next game.

Does that mean I get a REFUND?

[smu diamond m]

I'm curious as to the rest of this story as well -- care to inform any of us plebeian horn players and DMC members as to who these folks talked to? Or just slander the only organization on campus that respects tradition before finding resolution in an appropriate forum?

The Alumni Band is a group of volunteer players - not necessarily Diamond M Club members - that play around the Boulevard for places willing to listen on gameday. Something like this may or may not fit into our gameday schedule. Let somebody know ahead of time so that we have a chance to plan. I personally run all over campus and appear when we're supposed to play. We don't sit around waiting for guys to request our presence.

Peruna is my mascot.

[MustangLassie]

the alumni band shouldn't get paid for the next game.

LOL. I want a refund too. And a friggin' cart so that we don't have to haul our instruments all over campus.

[Junior]

so i guess Traumadoc just wanted to stip up some stuff then bail?

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

The Alumni Band played for the fb players several years ago when they'd leave their team meetings in the Theology Quad, when PB was still coach. The players listened to their own music and acted as if they couldn't care less if we were there

Diamond Girl we just may finally agree on something!

I agree many of the players on the walk appear to be almost distracted from their headphone
music as they make their walk past SMU Fans clapping and cheering for them. It makes them appear aloof and in their own little world. I am sure there are several things going on here, #1 it allows shy players to insulate themselves from having to interact with their fans, #2 it allows them to "look cool", and #3 it is a generational thing where they just dont know any better. If I was the coach (God Help Us!) there would be no headphones on the player walk to the stadium. And I am sure there will be somebody race into to defend the "headphone walk" because the players are in their game prep and need to be "concentrating" on Dr. Dre....uh uh I mean the game.

[Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex]

Time to disband the band or at least ban them from the campus until their attitude changes. Ban anything and/or anyone taking away from the "SMU Spirit".

I love how you're ready with the pitchfork and torch when you don't even know the full details. Nice.

[SMU89]

Funny, they didn't have a problem playing "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" at our tailgate

[03Mustang]

Time to disband the band or at least ban them from the campus until their attitude changes. Ban anything and/or anyone taking away from the "SMU Spirit".

I love how you're ready with the pitchfork and torch when you don't even know the full details. Nice.

Um...sarcasm detector broken today?

[MustangSTATS]

I agree with the more to this story than meets the eye sentiment. Also, it is an alumni band, they are here to have fun and pay their own way to tailgate and bring enthusiasm to the game. They shouldn't be demanded to do anything. No one would go up to the cox alumni area and demand them to start serenading the players. If the mustang walk is to become a real thing like at other schools, it will take more communication and not demands. I can't think of any other alumni group that would simply let someone else tell them what to do while enjoying their weekend on the blvd. They are spending their free time to be there. Also, we have an actual band.