Do you despise people who say "marching band is not a sport?"?

Question:It really p*sses me off. We do a lot more than other sports, and it's not as easy as it looks. When I first joined this year, I thought, how hard could it be. It's difficult as hell and to learn the drills and music and to do them at the same time WHILE hitting your spots is not like taking a walk in the park.

I've heard that it's not a sport because it does not require a physical form. So? Bands are so put down and rejected but most times, the best activity in school. We are constantly active and have more practices than our sucky football team.

Grrrr. How do you feel about marching bands. Serious answers only.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: It really p*sses me off. We do a lot more than other sports, and it's not as easy as it looks. When I first joined this year, I thought, how hard could it be. It's difficult as hell and to learn the drills and music and to do them at the same time WHILE hitting your spots is not like taking a walk in the park.

I've heard that it's not a sport because it does not require a physical form. So? Bands are so put down and rejected but most times, the best activity in school. We are constantly active and have more practices than our sucky football team.

Grrrr. How do you feel about marching bands. Serious answers only.

Yo, I here ya. People at my school always putting us down cause we don't play the most popular music like the other bands at football games. Uh...Hello? We have more important things to do other than take 30 minutes out of our time to learn other pieces when we need to be concentrating on the show and competitions.
We have afterschool practices on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. We have football games on Fridays and competitions on Saturdays. And we go outside during school hours to practice on the field. We hardly have anytime to relax during the season. And they have the nerve to tell us that we have it made. Okay, I get that football is a contact sport and you get tackled, but have they ever carried a drum that weighs about 40 to 80 pounds on their shoulders, marching at a tempo at about 166, playing music that they should of memorized and reaching their spots in the drill they learned during the summer? Or carring a marching tuba or sousaphone? How about a clarinet or flute and trying to keep it parallel to the ground. Crap marching, squaring off the shoulders, marching forward and backward? And all this wearing a uniform in different kinds of weather? I don't think so. They don't know what all it takes in doing a task that seems simple when you're the one watching it from the stands. It takes endurance, strength and dicipline.
Marching band, in my book, is a sport and should be labeled as one. Compared to other sports, this is really the only thing you can do until you die rather than till you're about 40 (or injured).
Hope This Helped. :-)

P.S. I'm a percussionist in my band. I'm on the front ensemble (mallets mostly), but in the stands, I rock the bass. :-)

EDIT: To some you idiots above me, band does take physical strength. You might want to read my answer before saying it isn't cause I really spelled it out to you loud and clear. Sure, it might not get the publicity it needs, but at least we get to keep our brain cells rather than getting them bashed out one by one with concusions. And we do compete, fiercly by the way and we're good with it. If you say all bands suck, then you must of grown up in a sucky town, cause down here, we do it right and keep it real. And if you said anything about us, the percussionists in my band would drag you by your hands and feet in the the percussion room, turn the lights off and beat you to a pulp. It's also how we welcome new percussionists, but only the boys.
BAND IS A SPORT!!!!

I would say it was a physical activity.. but a sport? Not really..

It's a musical competition involving marching.

Idk it just doesn't feel like asport to me.

but whatever, sports are whatever people think they are. you shouldn't get all upset over a word.

no way a sport but it does take talent and energy and good cardio sorry not a sport

Band and NASCAR Are not sports.

Sure it's hard, but it's not a sport. Check out the old video of the Stanford tuba player getting run over on a kick off return. The difference couldn't be more obvious.
Any competition where you have to vote on the winner, is not a real sport.

I used to be in a marching band at my high school. I have marched in Monday Night Football halftime shows and in the Rose Parade. Doesn't matter how good your conductor said you sound, once you get in the stands the band sounds like crap. Any band. I saw the world's 19 best bands march... they all sucked. When was the last time you saw a headline like "lead tuba sidelined with broken thumb from last weeks game"? Granted the wool uniforms suck and the instruments are annoying... but in no way is it a sport. There is no physical strain, no competing, its just not a sport. Its like calling concert band a sport. In sports you see athletes performing amazing feats of strength and skill. Hitting the right pads while belting out a high C isn't that challenging. Even if you have short legs and you're taking a 2 to 5. So man up, shed the wool, and join a real sport.

p.s. Im assuming you play a woodwind, cuz they are all pissy nerds

Yes because it requires physical exertion. Go Band Geeks!!!!

I love marching band. I don't care what other people think of it, because frankly, people criticize things they don't understand or know nothing about. When people make these judgements, I tell them to watch a DCI video on YouTube and then talk to me.
But, I don't waste my time trying to fight those idiots. Not every marching band is active so it constantly gets misrepresented. You can't expect all people to view marching band as a sport when so many marching bands do nothing active when on the field.

Instead, work your butt off in your current marching band and quit wasting time getting mad at people who don't understand it. Some will come around and some will not, and instead, you'll be enjoying yourself in a marching rehearsal knowing that during that performance, you and 100+ people will be having the time of your life.

Hey, don't worry about what other people (who have never been in band) think about it. I was in it for four years, and even missed fish camp, so I had a lot of info to absorb that first season. It does depend on your definition of sport. It is an interesting category of activity. You are judged at competition not only by your execution of the formation but also of the excellence of the musical performance. And THAT is difficult to accomplish while you are moving around and hitting your marks. People who haven't been in it just don't know. But I wouldn't worry about those people.

Marching band is awesome! But it's not a sport, it's an art. Which is really awesome!

Sport = primarily physical activity, there is a team, you get points somehow, somebody wins, somebody loses, play or race against other schools.

Art = primarily an artistic activity, there can be competition, even physical exercise, like in marching band. But the main focus is making music.

Oh, and frequently, it IS taking walks in the park. Long, complicated, very formal, musical walks in the park.

My kid's school has an awesome, award-winning marching band. The coolest kids in the school are in marching band, and they are very well looked-up to. It helps that the teacher is awesome, and he is the son of the former marching band teacher, who was equally awesome.

It so is a sport! i've been in band for 2 seasons, and it is so hard! You have a ton of practices that are all day and nonstop. Our directors push us as hard if not harder than some of the sports coaches. Lucky for our band, we have the full support from our sports department, but still dont get as many credits. O well. GO BAND!!!

Lion Pride Baby!

don't despise those people. pity them. they are IDIOTS!

but don't worry, there is hope for them. idiocracy can be cured with proper education. but, don't sweat it girl. some people would never understand what they don't want to understand.

the good marching bands out there really do work hard. very intensive training, just like athletes. so i hope that you guys get the respect that you deserve

you guys ROCK!

wow...it is awesome that you are a baritone/trombone player there are not alot of girls that play that instrument!

and just so you know the person who told you it is not a sport because "it does not require a physical form" is a total f*ck-tard! i dont know about you girl, but at my school our marching band has to do block(excercises to get us fit for marching) for an hour before practice really begins. by the end of the season my calf muscles are so in shape!
what is funny about my school is that our football team sux and the band rocks but we get no credit what-so-ever.
i have been in marching band for 3 years now, and i know it is not easy, but no one else seems to recognize this. i hope you stick with it and do your school proud.

I'm (this user's daughter) in a string orchestra, but I have many friends who are in marching band. It's a sport. No denying it. it's just as, if not more time consuming than regular sports, it requires a great amount if discipline for very little crowd response.

power to you.

i get so mad!
it is a sport.
just because it actually requires a working brain and concentration doesn't mean it's not a sport >_<
for all those hours i've spent out in the boiling hot weather, and the freezing cold rain. all of those hours at band camp, all of my fridays and saturdays wasted, it is definitely a sport.
it takes a huge amount of work and effort to play your instrument, learn your drill, memorize the drill, memorize the music, march in time with a good technique, dress, cover, etc.
and have you ever seen baritone players' arms?
dangggg!
haha
<3

It pisses me off too. It is definitely a sport. I've taken lesson in a lot of things including horseback riding, fencing, Taekwondo, swimming, etc. and none of it is any where near as intense as marching band. People who aren't in it tend to make comments like "It's just walking around on a football field." Hello! It's MARCHING, which is a lot different and a lot harder than walking, to exactly the right spot, (and I mean exactly...a couple inches gets you marked down) in time, 60 times in a row, which also includes running in literally all directions, while playing 10 minutes worth of memorized music, plus memorizing any dancing in the show and doing that exactly right, and from temperatures of 100 degrees (summer camp and the August rehearsals) to way below freezing and sometimes snowing, with wind (this year at state finals we were literally in about 60 mile an hour wind...at least 20 hats and more plumes ended up on the ground), an average of three hour rehearsals plus seven hours on Saturdays, plus sectionals. If that's not a sport, I don't know what is.

it is not a sport. i dont see marching bands in the sports section. it is an aftershool activity. you are playing your flute and marching with others. hey, i can walk and chew gum at the same time. is that a sport too?