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Point of View from the Pep Band

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  • Point of View from the Pep Band

    As a new member of this board I would like to take an opportunity to share a view from an integral part of the Frost Arena experience...the PEP BAND.

    As a member of the pep band I thought I should comment on the current cheerleader situation. We are essentially partners with the cheerleaders in leading the entertainment for the games. Over the past few years we have had a good relationship with them. They are right in front of us so we we naturally interact with them. In fact last year when we went to the Elite 8, we rode on a bus together and we even went sight-seeing together. They are a fun group to be around and they take pride in what they do, just like us in the pep band do. They told us there side of the story Saturday night. The stunts they did Friday night were ones that they have done before earlier in the season. Then all of a sudden they were told they can't do it anymore. They essentially told them that they had to resort to high school level cheerleading stuff. They weren't even going to be allowed to do their single lifts they do on the sideline during the game. They took a stand for what happened and sat out the game Saturday night. So the pep band had to take over leading the cheers.

    We had a fun time Saturday night. It helped that we had several mini-megaphones in the band this weekend and then a old cheerleader megaphone that we started to use. On a couple occasions we got the "DEFENSE" cheer started and S D S U cheer going so we were happy to fill the void for the cheerleaders. But we in the pep band take pride in being very big Jacks basketball fans. Some people may think we just sit there and are a bunch of band geeks who don't care but probably about half of us are basketball fans. We even look up info on the other team so we can heckle them. We love to get under an opposing players skin. This past weekend we even got a St. Cloud player to acknowledge us and even give us a smile when we were making fun of the fact that he was wearing a pair of shorts underneath his bball shorts. The funny part was that he even checked to see if he was wearing a pair of shorts underneath. A dumb moment on his part, but it made us laugh because we knew that those players can hear us. Sometimes, but very rarely, we can be a little harsh on some players, but for the most part we just like to have fun and see what reactions we can get.

    We hope that everyone enjoys hearing us play at the games and hopefully we get the crowd pumped up. I have seen a couple comments on this board about how Frost isn't the same when the pep band isn't there. When we are not at a game, its because it happens to coincide with a school break or a holiday break. Sometimes there is not just enough people to put a band together on times like that, otherwise we are there for every regular season game and postseason game. We do in fact get paid per game night by the HPER, its not great amount but personally, I don't do it for the money, I do if for the great amounts of fun we have playing at the games.
    Hopefully we get the chance to play again in Frost Arena this postseason and also go back to St. Joe's or Bakersfield for the Elite 8. We all enjoy playing for you....the FANS of THE WORLD's LARGEST RABBIT DEN!

  • #2
    Re: Point of View from the Pep Band

    Jacks Pep Band:

    Welcome aboard and I really enjoy your music and have for years. In the Barn(Intermural Building) and I go back that far, an entire section of bleachers was set aside for the band and I think they were on the midcourt strip.  They wore their marching band uniforms  but did not play military marches, but were big on the broadway tunes and popular music of the day. Then as now, the band was an important part of the game atomsphere.

    You got a great leader in Jim Coull and his choice of music is excellant and fitting for Frost.

    I have often wondered how and if the members were selected based on ability as the musicans seem to be among the best. I guess one thing that was learned from moving from the Barn to Frost was to eliminate the wood wind section as I dont think they were audioable even in the barn. Also no tubas. I noticed NDSU had two in their Pep band.


    It good to see a more scaled down band with quality musicans.  You guys are so much better than the pep bands at USD, UNO UND and NDSU.  I have often wonder why you guys dont cut a CD and do the tunes that you play at Frost. I for one would love to be able to slide a cd of the Pep Band and listen when I am doing windschield time(driving).

    Keep up the good work and I hope we can get the cheerleading problem worked out as they are part of the "Worlds Largest Rabbit Den" too.

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    • #3
      Re: Point of View from the Pep Band

      Thanks for your comments SDSUFAN. I can answer a couple of your questions. We do audition for the pep band and thats why the quality of the band is so high. On the matter of a pep band CD. We have recorded and produced a CD and they were available last year but I don't know how they were distributed and by whom. I can check on that for you.

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      • #4
        Re: Point of View from the Pep Band

        Please do, I would also love a "Jacks Game Music" CD. I would also like to say that I enjoy the Pep Band and the Pride at football games, it is never the same without you.

        Go State!

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        • #5
          Re: Point of View from the Pep Band

          Further praise for the pep band. Please continue to lead the cheers (and the jeers). The true Frost atmosphere includes the SDSU pep band (no substitutions please).
          We are here to add what we can to life, not get what we can from life. -Sir William Osler

          We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.

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          • #6
            Re: Point of View from the Pep Band

            It was nice to see the crowd get into a game at Frost Saturday. I believe it was about the time Richardson got an offensive rebound and went up got fouled and almost made the shot when the crowd erupted at the end of the game. Granted we have not had a lot of close games this year but I still think the crowds have been subdued. With the exception of the usual cheerleaders in the front row and constant barbs thrown at the referees I sometimes wish the people in the reserved seats (I'm one of them) would get more involved in making some noise rather than sitting on their hands being a non-active spectator. I have enjoyed the physical abilities of the cheerleaders however I don't think they have done a good job getting the students and other involved in the game as I have seen in years past. I don't know exactly what they were told by the administration to do or not do but I do think it was immature and self-centered to boycott the game on Saturday. Why does it take a couple of 70 year olds in the front row to lead the crowd in cheers that have been around since SDSU fan was a pup.

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