The Stanford Band's half time performance at the Rose Bowl

[Shutterbug]

...um ok.
I was in marching band all through high school and in college so I am well aware of Stanford Bands unorthodox ways. The bands I was in were like Ohio State with some Ohio U style thrown in. Still as I watched this.....was like ummm are they slamming Iowa? Even ESPN didnt know what to do. They switched to a blimp view which slowly panned back and away from the stadium completely.

Heres an article from SB Nation

http://www.sbnation.com/2016/1/1/10699822/stanford-band-rose-bowl-iowa

 

[RitaE]

Looking at their Wikipedia page, they apparently try hard to be irreverent and insulting. They're banned (get it?? ha ha) from Disneyland. A cow seems pretty mundane compared to some of their past antics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Band

 

[NewRVLady]

its funny-but they make fun of the other team with their pranks

 

[Neesy228]

When do they NOT do something offensive? There's classy...and then there's the Stanford band. I'm not sure why a group of supposedly intelligent individuals find it funny to insult and offend people. There must be something better to do with their time.

 

[gwynne]

Fear the Tree....Band.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

I find it so ironic and amusing that in their effort to be non-conforming and not follow conventional rules that they are doing exactly what they try to avoid. They play arrangements for bands, which of course means any individuality is gone. They do not wear traditional uniforms which means they must dress in anything but, so another guideline is adhered to. They are more of a joke to me and I laugh AT them, not WITH them

 

[Gumbo4x4]

A cow, you say? Isn't California one of biggest beef AND dairy producing states?

 

[SMD]

I've always liked them. When they play at away games they take shots at the home team's rivals or recent news or pop culture. I've seen other scramble bands and enjoyed them to, but Stanford is the most successful football team, so they get the most attention. Rice is the only other one I can think of that's been to a bowl recently.

And SBNation's reporting on these things is always so lazy. They made fun of UCLA and Cal for doing a non-traditional halftime show about the Trojan horse. UCLA has done that show for 30 years, but the writer had never heard of it, so it was awful. They can't even be bothered to do a little research before ripping something because those articles get attention, so why muddy up snark with truth.

 

[pat fan]

THIS is what people get upset over? Granted, I don't follow college bands but aren't they just having fun?

 

[luvgoing2disney]

Not upset, just sharing an opinion

 

[momtosam]

We were watching and I have to say I didn't really get it.

 

[bcla]

I'll just kind of stay out of giving my personal opinion for obvious reasons. That being said, I've been subjected to them over the years. I know a few Stanford alums and a few find them amusing while many are embarrassed. They've literally been banned by several schools. Notre Dame first banned them for a man conducting with a cross while wearing a habit. The second time was for their halftime re-creation of the Irish Potato Famine. Their ban from Disneyland is supposedly still in effect even though that happened in the early 70s. There was also the time they had a halftime show about polygamy with BYU the opponent. They weren't even supposed to travel to away games this academic year. A lot of the articles about the Rose Bowl say that this was the first time they were allowed to travel all year.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/...land-stanford-junior-university-marching-band

Of course they're most famous for this:

 

[jdb in AZ]

I didn't get what they were trying to prove either, til reading a commentary after. I thought the cow was an escapee from a Chick Filet commercial.

Thanks for posting the Cal video. I was trying to describe it when you posted, and a video is worth more than a thousand words.

Another time (again ancient history) Stanford was playing BYU and some black male band members from Stanford exposed themselves to the BYU cheerleaders to show them what a black, um, anatomy looked like.

Sometimes the Stanford band is mildly entertaining. Other times, not so much. Musicians at other university bands get college credit for marching band. Stanford band members are more like a fraternity -- not a credit class.

 

[Geoff_M]

Such scramble bands can be lots of fun. Our oldest two kids went to Michigan Tech, whose "Pep Band" is quite well know for their unorthodox style and they aren't afraid to be a bit irreverent on occasion. However, one key difference is they don't go out of their way to be offensive like Stanford's band. Stanford's band seems to desire that others hate them... Which I just don't get.

 

[gwynne]

Such scramble bands can be lots of fun. Our oldest two kids went to Michigan Tech, whose "Pep Band" is quite well know for their unorthodox style and they aren't afraid to be a bit irreverent on occasion. However, one key difference is they don't go out of their way to be offensive like Stanford's band. Stanford's band seems to desire that others hate them... Which I just don't get.

Maybe Stanford's marching band appeals particularly to undergrads who crave attention, and who enjoy a lot of inside jokes. They have been at it a long time, it must work for some.

 

[AustinTink]

We went on a Stanford tour for our son this past summer. He couldn't get out of there fast enough. Something we noticed on the tour that also resonates with the Stanford band thing is how hard they try to make it seem like they are cool and have fun. But they wouldn't know fun if it bit them in the bum. The Stanford traditions our tour guide listed as "super-cool" campus activities were awkward and weird at best. It seemed like he was trying very hard to make it seem like they weren't all a bunch of egghead nerds who spend all their time studying.

Anyway, that's what I thought of when I saw the band yesterday. Awkward.

P.S. Stanford alums I know you're not al awkward and weird. One of our best friends went to Stanford. He's fairly normal.

 

[NewRVLady]

I'll just kind of stay out of giving my personal opinion for obvious reasons. That being said, I've been subjected to them over the years. I know a few Stanford alums and a few find them amusing while many are embarrassed. They've literally been banned by several schools. Notre Dame first banned them for a man conducting with a cross while wearing a habit. The second time was for their halftime re-creation of the Irish Potato Famine. Their ban from Disneyland is supposedly still in effect even though that happened in the early 70s. There was also the time they had a halftime show about polygamy with BYU the opponent. They weren't even supposed to travel to away games this academic year. A lot of the articles about the Rose Bowl say that this was the first time they were allowed to travel all year.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/...land-stanford-junior-university-marching-band

Of course they're most famous for this:

I read about this touchdown.....pretty funny

 

[GaryDis]

They're just trying to imitate Ivy League bands.

 

[Kellykins1218]

I just don't get it. As a band parent, I would be so embarrassed to have my kids involved with a group like that.

 

[SoCalTrojanSkip]

They're just trying to imitate Ivy League bands.

^This....


It should also be noted that the Stanford band is not an officially sanctioned group on campus. They operate more or less independent of official (ever increasing) university control, but were assigned a university adviser a few years ago after some well publicized half time shows that were all on the outside border of good taste.
These guys have been on probation all season, they had a travel ban imposed on them at the beginning of the season for some questionable initiation rituals, and were only allowed to participate in the Pac-12 Championship game (I had the misfortune of seeing them there) and the Rose Bowl after school lifted the ban...

I can't stand these guys, and no one told them the joke stopped being funny 30 years ago. but then again I played in the band at USC and had to see them up close every year so my opinion may be a little biased. Stanford is a great school, and they deserve better than this mess.

This however, may have been the signature on their death warrant.