You think you are all mighty and tough. You think that you are better than everyone else. You step on everyone else’s shoes just to gain your pride… “Who are you talking about?” you might be wondering… A football player.
Just like my good friend deathbybeebles said in his article… football is very important at our school. It determines everything from how people treat you to your “social status”. Because of that simple sport, people are put into social classes that they do not deserve to be in.
It seems that in every school, band is the geekyest and nerdiest thing you could possibly get into. We are made fun of at school, not by our fellow instrumentalists… but by mostly football players and their friends.
Where do you have the right to make fun of the 41 people who come to all of your games to play for you and cheer you on?
Where do you have the right to say that band is stupid when you’ve never done it for yourself?
Where do you have the right to sit and laugh at us for being who we are and doing what we love to do?
You can say that band is stupid… but before you do… I want to see you spend 6 or more years of your life playing an instrument and striving to achieve perfection. Then I want you to memorize more than 15 songs over a course of 2 1/2 months every year. Then, I want you to spend a week of your summer, hours away from home at band camp learning to march a show. Then I want you to spend 3 to 4 hours a day, 3 days a week during the summer after band camp rehearsing that show. Then I want you to spend your last period class everyday during school working on music and marching.
After all that and you still think it’s stupid… more power to you. If you actually tried it and didn’t like it, I can understand perfectly. But if you are going to sit there not knowing what we do then laugh and make fun of us… you should shove your own fist up your ass. The work we go though every year to play at your games and to be there to cheer you on is remarkable in spite of the fact that you take advantage of us and kick us around.
And I know there are football players out there who understand and don’t laugh and stare and I have the highest respect for them… like Weylin. He is in football AND plays the Bari sax in the band. There are also football players who have been friends with band people ever since they were little and they treat us with respect.
Before you open your mouth, before you point and laugh, before you talk about us… just remember, we are no different than you.
Well… we are more talented.
Be who you are.
~Sam
