It says something about a high school marching band when fans attend Friday night games, just to see the bands. I got to see my son’s marching band recently, and another marching band at another high school game, and was quite impressed with the two of the four marching bands. The football teams? Not so much.

My son is in his freshman year at Wills Point High School, a 4A school on the edge of East Texas. The band has a reputation for being good and boasts more than 170 members. That’s big.

The first night they wore their new uniforms, I was able to travel over and see my son and the band. The game itself was dreadful. The team stinks. They had no size, no speed, no real talent and four plays. It didn’t take long for the opponent to stop them in every facet of the game.

After watching the opposing team’s band, which was mediocre at best and what I expect from a high school band, the Wills Point Band took the field. The moment they started playing my jaw dropped. Their quality was completely unexpected. They were fantastic. I kept thinking, “how can they be so good?”

Apparently, all the talent and energy in the high school is devoted to the band. The football team? Not so much.

From what I’ve been told, the band goes to state every year for competition. That says something. Most bands win on the lower levels, but state is for the good ones. Only 20 went this year out of all the 4A high school. This year was an off year. They placed 15th. But last year, they place 5th in the state.

The other band that I saw this year that was really good was Waxahachie High School’s marching band. Great entertainment. The football game between Waco and Waxahachie? Not so much.

My son Joey loves being a part of the marching band. While he isn’t marching yet, he is a freshman and is only an alternate, he will march next year. He loves it, even being a freshman.

That is one of the reasons I made sure and took him to the Texas A&M football game two Saturday’s ago. I wanted him to see the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. He also got to meet  one of the members of the band, Courtney Eeds. Turns out that Courtney knew Joey and Andy’s cousin, Tanner C., who graduated last year from the Corps of Cadets and was ranked really high up in the organization.

I made sure Joey got a chance to talk to a band member while at A&M. Courtney Eeds was more than happy to share important information: how fun it was, the multitude of scholarships available, etc. Hopefully it was enough to whet his appetite. We will see.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons, 2021.