Band takes more time than football?

Which is the more time-consuming activity: marching band or football?

To answer that question, the Falcon calculated the hours associated with each during the fall:

During the fall competition, marching band practices about 18-20 hours a week reaching a peak of 25 hours during competition season. Based on these numbers and the number of weeks in the band season, band practices 262-280 hours per season, excluding band camp, a week before school, which adds an additional 73 hours. However, this year, the band season has been extended by another two weeks, or 36-40 hours, because of the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade.

Senior Color Guard captain McKenna Galvin said the extra hours make her allocate her time more efficiently.

“[The extra time] does not really affect me as much; rather, it makes me more efficient,” Galvin said. “If I have Guard after school, it convinces me to do my homework in the time period before guard. It’s kind of weird, but I get more efficient the busier I get.”

Senior drum major Bennett Lopez said that Macy’s does not really affect the band’s schedule.

“Around this time of the year, we would be nearing our finals competitions anyway,” Lopez said. “Other than learning another 90-second show with music and drill, it does not add too much extra work.”

Football, on the other hand, requires more of a year-round commitment, with players training and conditioning the spring and summer before the season starts in the fall. Football players generally average 22 to 23 hours per week in season, but unlike band, they train all summer and practice in the spring.

In contrast to the extensive weekend time that band consumes, the time devoted to football is generally spread over a week. Football practices last about three hours every day from Monday to Thursday. Football games on Friday generally last for about seven hours from the end to school to 10. Lifting is for about 45 minutes on Wednesday and one hour on Saturday, in addition to watching films of opposing teams on Monday and Saturday.

Regular football season lasts for 12 weeks, or about 264 -276 hours per season. However, because the team made CCS this year, the season could be extended for three more weeks,  an additional 66-69 hours.

Even with this extra time for the playoffs, Lopez believes marching band takes up more time than football because football players have more free time on Saturdays.

“Although we do not have practices every day, we have our Saturday rehearsals, which impede on our time to do other activities,” Lopez said. “Football only needs to dedicate a few hours for film.”

Senior linebacker Henry Wei, however, thinks football and band take up about the same amount of time.

“During the week, [the football team] will take more time, and Friday is like a 2:30 to 11 commitment,” said Wei. “I think that band takes more time during the weekend, so [you pick your] choice. You either lose all your weekend time or your weekday time.”