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Wish they still played like this!! Small, loud and WOW.. they actually march and don't just sit in one spot and play.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=c08QTjgLy50

That is AWESOME!!!

Thanks for finding that!

There is more than 1 video posted.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=MBandFan

Most of those under the direction of the late, great Dr. Irving "Coach" Dreibrodt, director from 1958-1983.

Nothing gives me the chills more than watching a marching band perform in front of a packed house like that....SMU needs a marching band tradition, like Ohio St. has "dot the i". I love and miss CFB.

Have you ever watched pregame? The whole pregame set is SMUs marching tradition. Not to mention the high step, and the Diamond M at the end of every halftime performance. Oh yeah, there is also the post game concert, and the playing of Shantytown, singing of Varsity and the rodeo cheer just to name a few. Have you ever watched in any of its iterations the Mustang Band perform? Maybe you should do a little less drinking before the game and actually get your butt into the seats about 15 minutes before kickoff. You might see something you never have.

This is what really irks me about SMU and its students. They spend all this time watching everybody else and wondering why SMU doesn't have any traditions. WE DO, its just that no one cares enough to find out what they are or they are too cool to partake.

Abezontar -- WELL SAID!

abezontar wrote:Have you ever watched pregame? The whole pregame set is SMUs marching tradition. Not to mention the high step, and the Diamond M at the end of every halftime performance. Oh yeah, there is also the post game concert, and the playing of Shantytown, singing of Varsity and the rodeo cheer just to name a few. Have you ever watched in any of its iterations the Mustang Band perform? Maybe you should do a little less drinking before the game and actually get your butt into the seats about 15 minutes before kickoff. You might see something you never have.

This is what really irks me about SMU and its students. They spend all this time watching everybody else and wondering why SMU doesn't have any traditions. WE DO, its just that no one cares enough to find out what they are or they are too cool to partake.

I think everyone agrees that we have tradition.. but I would rather see it at halftime too. Don't tell me we're a marching band at halftime in the same way the band was back in the 80's.. it's completely different. It's not as upbeat, slow marching.. it's just not the same man. Now, that being said.. I know things change and I'm not coming down on the Band. But.. you have to see the difference right?

And yes.. I was a Peruna Handler by the way.. I've seen it before during and after the game..

ponyfan84 wrote:Nothing gives me the chills more than watching a marching band perform in front of a packed house like that....SMU needs a marching band tradition, like Ohio St. has "dot the i". I love and miss CFB.

speaking of traditions, the one I can think of would be the drum major sprinting around to the other side to meet the band as they march across the field. Now, can one of you bandies answer the question that everyone wonders: Has he ever fallen on that sprint? When and where?

abezontar wrote:Have you ever watched pregame? The whole pregame set is SMUs marching tradition. Not to mention the high step, and the Diamond M at the end of every halftime performance. Oh yeah, there is also the post game concert, and the playing of Shantytown, singing of Varsity and the rodeo cheer just to name a few. Have you ever watched in any of its iterations the Mustang Band perform? Maybe you should do a little less drinking before the game and actually get your butt into the seats about 15 minutes before kickoff. You might see something you never have.

This is what really irks me about SMU and its students. They spend all this time watching everybody else and wondering why SMU doesn't have any traditions. WE DO, its just that no one cares enough to find out what they are or they are too cool to partake.

a) Relax

b) I have gone to every game in my 4 years here, and I arrived at least 10 minutes prior to game time to catch some of these traditions. I know all the fight songs and all the other spirit stuff I was taught at orientation. So watch out when you assume every student on this thread, or at this school is some drunk frat boy dressed in his coat and tie, with a backwards hat and sunglasses. I'm not one of those guys. I actually like football.

c) I am just saying, wouldn't it be nice if we had some tradition or signature move EVERYONE enjoyed looking forward to on Saturdays? And the stuff they have now isn't that exciting, as noted by WorldStang. They're routines are not that interesting. Plus, watching the band isn't exciting when there is nobody in the stadium! When watching an older video on youtube of the Ohio St. Band, everyone was on their feet clapping and cheering, and the place went nuts when they dotted the 'i'. I just wish we could have it. I would also like to note I mean no harm towards the band. They are a great band and I've heard the practices they put in. They have a tough job, and they do it to perfection day in and day out.

WorldStang wrote:
I think everyone agrees that we have tradition.. but I would rather see it at halftime too. Don't tell me we're a marching band at halftime in the same way the band was back in the 80's.. it's completely different. It's not as upbeat, slow marching.. it's just not the same man. Now, that being said.. I know things change and I'm not coming down on the Band. But.. you have to see the difference right?

And yes.. I was a Peruna Handler by the way.. I've seen it before during and after the game..

Have you ever seen the end of halftime? Every game they perform their signature high step as they form the Diamond M to the tune of Pony Battle Cry, they then playing the Waring Ending and March off the field to Peruna. Every halftime.

I'm not going to discuss quality of the performances with you, that's an entirely separate issue. The fact remains though that there is a signature SMU move at the end of every halftime and it has been that way since the arrival of the late great Coach.

ponyfan84 wrote:
a) Relax

b) I have gone to every game in my 4 years here, and I arrived at least 10 minutes prior to game time to catch some of these traditions. I know all the fight songs and all the other spirit stuff I was taught at orientation. So watch out when you assume every student on this thread, or at this school is some drunk frat boy dressed in his coat and tie, with a backwards hat and sunglasses. I'm not one of those guys. I actually like football.

c) I am just saying, wouldn't it be nice if we had some tradition or signature move EVERYONE enjoyed looking forward to on Saturdays? And the stuff they have now isn't that exciting, as noted by WorldStang. They're routines are not that interesting. Plus, watching the band isn't exciting when there is nobody in the stadium! When watching an older video on youtube of the Ohio St. Band, everyone was on their feet clapping and cheering, and the place went nuts when they dotted the 'i'. I just wish we could have it. I would also like to note I mean no harm towards the band. They are a great band and I've heard the practices they put in. They have a tough job, and they do it to perfection day in and day out.

I don't want to relax I have too much to do tonight.

I mentioned nothing about you being a frat boy. I said that what bugged me about SMU and its students is that they either don't take the time to learn the traditions, or THEY THINK THEY ARE TOO COOL TO PARTAKE!!! Your last post makes me think you are definitely in the latter category, as I will explain below.

You said that you enjoy the dotting of the i by Ohio State because "everyone was on their feet clapping and cheering, and the place went nuts when they dotted the i." It is a tradition that "everyone looks forward to on Saturdays." Stop for a second and think, why do they look forward to it, why do they cheer? It's not because it is unique, it is because they have embraced the tradition at the school. They have recognized that it is a representation of a part of who they are and they react by supporting it. The Mustang Band has the tradition. They might need some work to get back to the days of old, but the tradition is still there. The problem is that the fans of SMU, the fans in the stand could care less about their school. If you want to have that experience you have to create it. You have to embrace your schools traditions and value them. You can't disparage them; you can't wish to cast them aside for someone else's traditions.

If you aren't cheering when the band forms the Diamond M at the end of each halftime, if you aren't singing along as they play Pony Battle Cry and Peruna, and asking for them to blow their brains out during Waring then you are one of those who thinks he is too cool to partake in our traditions, and that makes you like those students I hate.

Caveat: I'm not ever going to say you can't criticize the quality of the performances or lament the small size of the band, but I will fight you tooth and nail when you speak ill of the school's traditions.

Just a note,

That video isn't of an entire halftime. I've seen the entire shows from the 80's, and they were almost ALWAYS 3 songs. Stand still and play one to home side, march the 2nd song, and then stand still again and play the 3rd song to the away side.

I was in the band from 2000-2005, and we marched way more than they did back in the 80's. The only song we ever stood still for was the "drill tune" where the dance team would come out and do their thing. The rest of halftime, we were marching around.

I'm not too familiar with what the band does now, but not every aspect of the 80's SMU scene magically trumps what has happened since.

Abe, good points. It's not the traditions at other schools that people stand and cheer for, it's the fact that those traditions represent THEIR school, so they embrace that and go with it. The new UVA band plays Gary Glitter's "The Hey Song" during their football pregame show, quite possibly one of the cheesiest songs ever, yet the crowd all does some chant to it because it's their school, and it's what they do there. Imagine if in the 1980's, the Florida State crowd whined about "that new war chant" and "why can't we be more like Ohio State/Michigan/Random Big 10 school?"

No doubt, today's band marches slower and has nowhere near the sound.

As a 70s member, I assure you this tape is what we're missing today.
Plus, we'd had 3 or 4 good shots of Everclear when we were doing it.

Pick it up, guys - and Blow!!!!!!!!!
(Ladies, I'm afraid this is on you.)

The Peruna intro and exit nowadays is played at the speed of a funeral dirge. Not trying to be negative. It's a fact.

Listen to the tempo when they exit the field in this tape. It gets you up.

Multiple post

mr. pony wrote:No doubt, today's band marches slower and has nowhere near the sound.

As a 70s member, I assure you this tape is what we're missing today.
Plus, we'd had 3 or 4 good shots of Everclear when we were doing it.

Pick it up, guys - and Blow!!!!!!!!!
(Ladies, I'm afraid this is on you.)

I think it is more on an individual band alum who was in band from 1978-1982. Like I said earlier, I'm not going to say you can't criticize the quality of the current performances.