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Marching Band Should Be Considered a Sport

When the average person thinks of sports they think of football, soccer, baseball, hockey, or basketball. Yeah those are all great sports, but what about those sports that aren't sports, but should be? Marching band should be considered a sport for many reasons. Marching band fits all the definitions for a sport (and it follows them to perfection). There are many statistics to reveal marching band is a sport and how hard the members work. As a member of the FMHS Wildcat Marching Band, I know we put forth an asonishing amount of time and practice to become he great athletes we are today.

One of the most commonly accepted definitions of a sport activity is: "a physical activity which involves propelling a mass through space or over coming the resistance of a mass." In marching band, the color guard (the girls with the flags, etc.) toss flags, rifles, sabers, etc. into the air. And those instruments! Some can weigh fifty pounds or more! The one I had was at least twenty pounds. That's definitely more than football gear!

Another definition is, "a contest or competition against or with an opponent." There are many competitive marching bands out there that compete against countless opponents at each show. One of the best competitive marching band shows is the World Championship Finals, publicized each year on ESPN (a sports channel), just like other sports. There are more than 400,000 fans at each live event.

There are many studies evaluating how much marching band members perform. One study shows one marching band member, during a parade, works harder than a football player does during a game. When conmpared to a parade, a marching band member works about twice as hard in a field show.

Another study shows that marching band members actually NEED skills! One member needs to work every part and muscle of their body. A member needs to know how to properly march, have their music completely memorized, count, move, play, and remember what to do before and after the show, all at the same time. How many football players can count and catch a ball at the same time? Sure they have to remember the play, but that's just one thing. Football players need skills too, but they don't need as many. Marching band members have to remember at least six things all at once. One member can multi-task better than any other athlete in another sport.

As a member of a marching band, I know how hard we all work. In one season, I drank four times a much water then when we weren't practicing. I also lost ten pounds in one season. We practiced daily for hours upon end. I can lift heavier things now then I could before,

In summary, is marching band a physical activity? Yes. Is marching band undertaken competitivley? Yes. It fits all the definitions of a sport, right? Yes! There are more definitions and statistics but I don't want to bore you. So, the next time you are walking down the hallway and you see someone with a lettermans jacket that says "Band" don't think "What a band geek," think, "What a great athlete!"

Join the Discussion

This article has 156 comments. Post your own now!

Tanner N. said...
Feb. 20, 2015 at 1:47 pm
Marching band can be a sport when you have 200 pound linemen chasing you down.
batmanforever replied...
Mar. 9, 2015 at 11:24 am
told you @Maryk
Maryk replied...
Mar. 10, 2015 at 9:59 am
Therefore we finally know that musicians are way more intelligent than the Romans. Who had terrible ethics when it came down to rules in sports, and a plenty of hazing in their own army. We have come far as musicians and anyone who claims hazing, competition, and harassment as tradition they are clearly a Roman.
Thor replied...
May 15, 2015 at 9:57 am
I suppose baseball, track, basketball, and volleyball will be sports when they "Have 200 pound lineman chasing them down" as if that makes something a sport. Sure.
Maryk replied...
May 21, 2015 at 9:23 pm
You are a Roman if you even think Marching Band is a sport, shame on you and your assumptions and lack of information of the psychology and sociology of this issue and its impact
Susan replied...
Aug. 22, 2015 at 6:00 pm
you've obviously never been in Marching Band
Xenos replied...
Aug. 29, 2015 at 10:08 pm
Maryk, what the hell have you been unleashing on this comment section? Would you tell me Ballroom Dancing is more of a sport than Marching Band because it's on the official sports list and marching band is not? Give me one unarguable reason why it cannot be a sport and I will stop while I'm ahead
tye1468 replied...
Nov. 17, 2015 at 12:37 pm
@Maryk obviously you have not seen one practice so shame on you
Nov. 20, 2015 at 10:31 pm
@Maryk which side are you on? you are defending both sides...
bandgeek15 replied...
Jan. 11 at 12:02 pm
ballroom is a sport and you still don't have linemen chasing you then
mnmband29 said...
Feb. 3, 2015 at 9:17 pm
This essay is amazing. I am in marching band at my highschool. I am a freshman but was invited to join in the seventh grade. I never understood what members of a marching band endured during band camp. daily practices, Friday night football games, and Saturday morning competitions. I am about to start writing an essay with the same point as this. Marching band fits every definition of sport.It is most definitely in need of more support. Memorizing music, counts, rests, horn flashes, visuals, and... (more »)
Maryk replied...
Feb. 7, 2015 at 10:01 pm
Before you make your essay I advise that you talk about the artistic and creative aspects that make marching band not a sport but an art-form and the consequences of trying to make it a sport. I have found evidence of the fact that some organizations like Drum Corps International and even collage marching bands want to put the creative part on the side and market bands and brass corps like sports teams.However the flip side of the coin is the show Blast which makes the marching band have a more ... (more »)
8th Grade Marcher said...
Jan. 5, 2015 at 11:52 am
Thanks! Marching Band is a sport and it IS the hardest sport. I don't understand what people don't get about that. Memorizing music AND memorizing marching sets is harder than running down a field or court with a ball.
Maryk replied...
Jan. 7, 2015 at 12:03 pm
My concern with the idea of marching band even being a sport is that the artistic and musical creativity of being a musician gets overtaken by competition and over perfection. Imagine if your a really creative and compassionate person that worked really hard and instead of your group getting credit and phrase, the director that has more money, harasses students, and let's others get away with bulling and name calling gets all the credit. In these situations of competition and sport, the power an... (more »)
Maryk said...
Dec. 21, 2014 at 9:47 am
I have seen many great and thought provoking opinions in this essay about marching band being a artistic and creative instead of a competitive sport. I would like it if you replied to my forum The Marching Band Has Issues, I made it in response to the firing of the marching band director at Ohio State for his harassment, hazing, and degrading of band members. There are many musicians that feel victim to this culture of bulling and crushed creativity. Please Comment Mary K
Nov. 11, 2014 at 4:28 pm
I am a member of a marching band and even I don't think marching band is a sport.  It is an art form. I also play soccer and run cross country and i never get tired marching.
Maryk replied...
Nov. 15, 2014 at 9:56 am
It's good to know the difference between an art and a sport, yet sadly some people like to combine the two things that do not go well together. Art deserves aprication and love not a plack on the wall or a trophy. The compition and the juging needs to end so that all people can have their opinon, not just the guy at the table. 
Nov. 10, 2014 at 9:32 pm
This is the truest statement I have heard all day... As a member of a marching band myself, marching band has been the hardest thing (though also the best thing) I have ever done in my entire life. I feel we work jsut as hard, if not harder, as any other sport out there. What's funny is that if you look up my school on Google Earth, you can see the marching band practicing in the parking lot and not one sports team is out on the football field, soccer fields, track, etc.
Maryk replied...
Nov. 11, 2014 at 9:56 am
That is amazing I like bands that do not compete and enjoy what they are doing. Your coment definaly proves a point, marching bands don't have to be sport teams but just be themselfs. I fact bands that do not compeate perform better and it does not matter where you practice. How you treat you musicans and accomidate for others in the band is what makes a band amazing
Oct. 24, 2014 at 12:24 pm
SOOO TRUE!!!!!!! As a clarinetist in my high school band, I totally agree with that! And is it just me or do bands seem a bit underappreciated?
Maryk replied...
Oct. 27, 2014 at 2:27 pm
Band members are verry underapricated especaly when it comes media for children and tweens. However turning an art into a sport is not a solution, the soulution is creating role models kids in band can relate to and also make it entertaining and diverce when it comes to music. One day I want to make a show for middle schoolers called Star of Indiana Show that is like a mix of Glee and Big Bang Theroy for band geeks, about real band geeks that have different intrest, instruments, problems, and di... (more »)
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